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WNIJ's summary of news items around our state.

Spring Break Means Some NIU Students Head To The Polls Early

Jenna Dooley

Early voting is underway in northern Illinois for the state’s primary contests.

Find an Early Voting location in your area

Illinois’ primary is March 15, but many people aren’t waiting until then to cast their ballots.

At Northern Illinois University’s Holmes Student Center, senior journalism major Jazmin Kelley had a very simple reason to vote before next week.

“Well, I’m leaving for spring break, and I know that the voting day was the 15th and I know I’m not going to be here.”

She says she's trying to get her peers on-board with the idea too.

“I just figured that it’s very important for our voices to be heard regardless. I know a lot of people are like, ‘I’m leaving, I don’t care.’ I am like, ‘No, you should vote because you don’t want anything bad to happen.’”

Those who are interested can register and vote at a polling place on the same day.

And people who will turn 18 in time for the general election in November may also register and vote in the Illinois primary.

Jenna Dooley has spent her professional career in public radio. She is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and the Public Affairs Reporting Program at the University of Illinois - Springfield. She returned to Northern Public Radio in DeKalb after several years hosting Morning Edition at WUIS-FM in Springfield. She is a former "Newsfinder of the Year" from the Illinois Associated Press and recipient of NIU's Donald R. Grubb Journalism Alumni Award. She is an active member of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association and an adjunct instructor at NIU.
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