Forest County elections director Jean Ann Hitchcock says things are going smoothly in preparation for the Nov. 7 general election that is less than a month away.
Hitchcock said she estimates she has received about 275 requests so far for mail-in ballots.
As for new voter registrations or voters changing parties, Hitchcock said she hasn’t noticed any more then she normally sees.
Looking ahead to next year, Hitchcock also discussed the impact of a date change for next year’s primary election, which of course would feature the 2024 presidential contest.
The state House has approved a bill that would move the date three weeks earlier to April 2. Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are pushing for legislation to move the date up by five weeks to March 19.
Hitchcock said it would be harder to find pollworkers if the primary is earlier.
Many of the Forest County pollworkers are “snowbirds” who won’t be back home by late March or early April, she said.
“I don’t think there would be other impacts. We would have to get things done quicker. We would end one election and start right into another one,” Hitchcock said.