Yorkville and Kendall County voters turned out by the thousands to cast their ballots on Tuesday – and all for a myriad of reasons.

In a discussion on the Yorkville Patch Facebook page several residents laid out their primary reasons for going to the polls, which, not surprisingly, included interests in the national economy as well as local issues.

Barb Murphy and Dominique Castillo said they voted not only because of issues, but also because they regard it as a civic duty.

“I also voted because I am blessed with that right. There are people in other countries who would die for that right,” Castillo said.

Murphy said she is also diligent in exercising her right to vote because “too many women fought for my right to vote.”

“I agree, it is an insult to those who fought so hard for the right. It is our civic duty,” Anne Hogan Stillson said.

Click here for a list of all of Tuesday's winners and losers.

Jayme Slager said the presidential election was her primary reason for voting this year, but added local races were important too. She said she hopes to see more Democrats on the ballot in those local contests in the future.

“I voted because since graduating college I've become obsessed with seeing a third party earn federal funding for our presidential elections. I always lose, but I don't feel as dirty afterwards,” Joel Frieders said.  

Frieders was not the only resident to offer support for a third-party candidate. Maribeth Uhlenhopp said she did not find what she wanted from either President Barack Obama or Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Although she knew her candidate would not win, she said she felt better voting her conscience than casting a ballot for the “lesser of two evils.”

Local races were also important to Uhlenhopp. She said as a new resident of Yorkville she and her husband took care to research local candidates and issues.

A local race was most important to Robert Gryder. He said he wanted to support Kendall County Coroner Ken Toftoy’s re-election bid.

“One of the things that went largely undiscussed during the campaign season was the fact that Mr. Toftoy is very good at his job,” he said.

Voting on Tuesday in Kendall County was light and steady according to reports with only the most minor of issues during the day, such as ballots not feeding properly into optical scan readers. Those turned out to be simple alignment issues that were quickly taken care of, said Kendall County Clerk Debbie Gillette. Early voting turned out to be quite popular this cycle with nearly 3,000 more early votes cast than in 2008.

According to the Kendall County Clerk’s office, voter turnout was approximately 69.04 percent, which fell just short of matching overall turnout in the county for the 2008 presidential election at 69.4 percent.