Orland Township Was Busiest Suburban Early Voting Site

ORLAND TOWNSHIP, IL — Election Day is officially behind us, and after two weeks of early voting, Cook County Clerk records show that Orland Township welcomed more voters than any other suburban early voting site in Cook County, according to the office of Orland Township Supervisor Paul O’Grady.

According to the Cook County Clerk’s website from Oct. 19 to Nov. 2, a total of 17,513 voters cast their ballots at Orland Township, beating the next most frequented suburban early voting site by more than 3,300 individuals. That total does not include the tens of thousands of additional voters who utilized the mail-in ballot drop box drive-thru service at Orland Township, according to a news release.

Additionally, during early voting, a township nurse was on site to administer flu shots to residents who wanted to receive them, the release states. Regular township business, including the food pantry, general assistance office, scheduled appointments, the Nurses’ Closet, Wellness Wednesday, senior transportation and other programs continued as usual, as did the business of the newly opened Secretary of State driver express facility.

“Orland Township has had an extremely busy two weeks,” O’Grady said. “I cannot thank and commend my staff enough for all the hard work and extra effort they put in during the early voting period. They jumped in, taking on new roles, and made sure each long day ran as smoothly as possible — the Orland Township team has made me proud to be Township Supervisor.”

According to the release, prior to the beginning of early voting, township staff placed directional signs around the building and social distancing markers on the sidewalks outside, and inside, leading to the voting area. This was done to aid in foot traffic direction and proper distancing between residents, the release states.

Township staff also took on extra duties during the two weeks to help make residents’ visits to the facility as pleasant as possible. Those tasks included:

• Directing vehicular and foot traffic in and around the Township building to make sure everyone was using the proper entrance/area of the building for their business.
• Monitoring the waiting lines to ensure everyone was in the correct line and maintaining proper social distance.
• Greeting voters and handing out stylus pens or plastic gloves so voters could avoid direct contact with the touch screens on the voting machines and small bottles of hand sanitizer to use after voting. Staff also had masks available for individuals who accidentally left theirs behind.
• Escorting seniors and others with mobility issues directly into the building
• Making sure residents who were not voting were able to access the food pantry and were able to enter the building for their scheduled appointments and other township business
• Hourly cleaning and disinfecting of restrooms and high traffic areas.