Early voting in the primary election for Springfield started Monday and lasts until February 22. Grace period voting, which lets you register to vote and vote at the same time, lasts until February 13. The regular primary election day is February 27. For those with no run-off election in their ward (where only two candidates are running), voting day for the general election is April 17.
Today I went the the Clerk's office in the Sangamon County Complex at 200 S. 9th to vote. The Clerk's staff were friendly and helpful, as they always are. It was a good experience except for the parking ticket I got while voting. doh! That's almost as bad as the parking ticket I got for having to wait in line longer than I expected while paying for another parking ticket in the Municipal Building. I always try to plug enough time into my meter but my car seems to be some kind of magnet for parking tickets.
There's still only one location where you can vote early in Springfield. That probably makes sense because this will be a low turn-out primary, but I hope the County Clerk will soon decide to make other locations available for early voting in future elections. Maybe someplace without metered parking.