Before the polls opened this morning at 6 a.m., almost 40,000 people had already cast their votes.

For the past several weeks, Hulten and the Champaign County Clerk Office have made efforts to increase the number of early voters.

“The record for the turnout, for us, during a presidential election has been 84,000 votes,” Hulten said. “We’ve had almost half (that) prior to election day. I think we will break our record.”

So far, voting locations in Champaign County have not had long wait times, Champaign County Clerk Gordy Hulten said.

“I’m not aware of any lines consistently today,” he said. “There were some lines in the morning when the polls opened and there were some lines at the Illini Union during lunch rush.”

ChampaignCountyClerk on Twitter: “350 voters so far at Hillel Center. / Twitter”

350 voters so far at Hillel Center.

ChampaignCountyClerk on Twitter: “430 voters so far at PAR. / Twitter”

430 voters so far at PAR.

ChampaignCountyClerk on Twitter: “325 voters so far at ISR. / Twitter”

325 voters so far at ISR.

ChampaignCountyClerk on Twitter: “836 voters so far at ARC. / Twitter”

836 voters so far at ARC.

Although citizens are encouraged to register to vote early, same day voter registration is available as long as identification and proof of residence is presented to the judge at a voting location. Same day voter registration, however, can increase wait times.

ChampaignCountyClerk on Twitter: “Line will move, but Election Day Registration slows things down, even with the streamlining to our process. https://t.co/JfiZ4Bcgkt / Twitter”

Line will move, but Election Day Registration slows things down, even with the streamlining to our process. https://t.co/JfiZ4Bcgkt

“Same day voter registration slows down the voting process, because the judges have to verify addresses and licenses,” Hulten said.

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