One election down, another to go. Let's not forget about April

It's Friday evening, and we still don't know the next President of the United States.

That's OK, though. It's not news to the news folk – we've been planning (and attempting to warn others) of the fact that this slow and steady race to the White House was going to be the likely reality of months and months of pandemic-fueled fervor to cast ballots before the election. And that's OK. This counting is all part of the process, elongated only by the millions of voters who cast their ballot early, and tireless poll workers, election judges and ballot counters who, in many states, weren't even allowed to open those ballots until after the polls closed Tuesday.

And whether by mail, or in-person, absentee or early voting, depending on what state you live in, Americans showed up for Tuesday's election, well, before Tuesday's election.

We saw that in DeKalb County, too – record numbers of residents cast their General Election ballots early or by mail this year, according to the DeKalb County Clerk's office. Our reporter, Katrina Milton, was holed up at the Legislative Center in Sycamore Tuesday after the polls closed, waiting for the first of our results to come through.

And they did. The early votes and vote-by-mail tallies – at least, those ballots that had arrived by Election Day, since ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 can still be counted if received by Nov. 17 – were added first to the precinct numbers for DeKalb County.

[ DeKalb County voters cast their ballots via mail this year eight times more than those who did in 2016, according to the clerk's office. ]

In 2020, 47,982 total ballots were cast, compared to 43,978 ballots cast in 2016. Of those ballots in 2020, 17,675 were early votes and 11,836 were cast by mail. In 2016, 10,873 ballots were cast early, with a (comparative) measly 1,1332 by mail.

That's over 10,000 more ballots cast by mail this year than last Presidential election, and an increased total voter turnout of nearly 5%.

Our election judges, ballot counters and poll workers (all volunteers) are to be commended, since as of Thursday, only 1,332 ballots remain outstanding. It's not enough to change the likely outcome of some of the biggest local races in the county – as the state's attorney, circuit clerk and coroner have margins well beyond several thousand votes – but it's enough to change the outcome of a few DeKalb County Board races. Districts 8 and 10, for instance, could see two incumbents unseated. And with margins less than 150 each per race, we'll have to wait until those final ballots are added to the total to make the call on Nov. 17.

Voter turnout peaked over 75% this year, (not our largest ever) but if anything, it's worth a reminder and some vocal encouragement to keep that momentum moving into April.

We know voter turnout is always going to be higher during a Presidential election year – and if anything, stakes couldn’t be higher now, in 2020, amid a pandemic and a (still) deeply divided nation.

April's elections, arguably, could impact each of you more directly, since they’re about city councils, mayors, school boards.

Leadership in DeKalb County already purports to look significantly different come next spring: with the mayors of all three of our largest municipalities – DeKalb, Sycamore and Genoa – announcing they won’t seek reelection.

Also of note, the DeKalb County Board will have new leadership for the first time in six years, as Board Chairman Mark Pietrowski, who also didn’t seek reelection, will step down in lieu of a run for Cortland mayor.

The window to file candidate papers for the April 2021 Consolidated Election runs Dec. 14 through 21 in DeKalb County.

These positions matter, because these are the people setting policy at the local level – they decide your tax levy caps, your utility payments, and how to spend your tax dollars.

City councils and school boards this year have already made decisions which have a direct impact – halting delinquency fees on water bills that are late due to the financial constraints from the COVID-19 pandemic, waiving restaurant and bar taxes for local restaurants struggling to make ends meet, deciding how to best react to the pandemic at large, setting budgets for police departments and law enforcement agencies, and the health department. They decide when school goes back in session, and whether your kids are learning from home or in the classroom – and how to react to a virus outbreak in schools.

All of these things have direct impacts on you, your life, your family's life.

I know it’s hard finding strength and energy to fight the long game. We're barely done with this election, how do we stomach another?

You’re right. I'm right there with you. Luckily, we’ve got a ways to go before April. But the spring will be here before we know it, and the pandemic will likely still be a reality then, too. And strong campaigns take months of effort.

These local races will matter, and we’ll need your votes all the more.