Early voting to expand in Chicago, suburban Cook County
Chicago and suburban Cook County residents will have more places to vote early in the presidential election beginning Monday.
In Chicago, early voting will expand from the supersite in the Loop and at the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners’ office to sites in all 50 wards. In suburban Cook County, early voting will go from five sites at county courthouses to 53 sites.
Chicago residents can vote at any of the early voting sites no matter which ward they live in. Likewise, suburban residents can cast their ballots at any early-voting site in the suburbs.
Suburban residents also may vote early at 69 W. Washington St. in the Loop, where the Cook County Clerk and Chicago Board of Election Commissioners offices are located.
On Election Day, Chicago voters can vote at their local precinct or any of the early-voting sites. Suburban voters must go to their assigned polling place.
Voters may turn in their mail-in ballots at the early-voting location using the secure drop boxes at each site rather than sending it through the mail. Residents may also register to vote at any early-voting site, so long as two forms of identification are provided.
Early voting in Chicago began on Oct. 3, while it started in suburban Cook County on Oct. 9.
As of Thursday, 10,119 ballots have been cast in person at the city's sites. Combined with 40,523 mail-in ballots already returned, that brings the total to 50,642 ballots cast 19 days before Election Day. More than 250,000 mail-in ballots have been requested.
In 2020, 188,137 ballots had been cast as of 19 days before the election — though the COVID-19 pandemic caused a unique surge in early voting.
In 2016, 22,847 ballots had been cast with 19 days to go. That number was mostly driven by in-person early voting, as mail-in ballots made up less than 5,000 of the total.
Max Bever, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, said voters have changed their voting habits considerably since the pandemic, altering when and how they cast their ballot.
“At this point, when it comes to looking at early voting, it’s too early to tell,” Bever said about what to make of the turnout. He said that will change once the sites in all 50 wards open on Monday, when typically around 10,000 votes are cast.
Still, Bever expects more than 70% of voters to cast a ballot this year, as is typical for the city during presidential elections.
“It’s clear that we have kind of a set number of voters that are turning out, but they’re changing the ways that they vote, so sometimes that can be a little difficult to predict,” he said.
Voters in the suburbs can find their closest early-voting site and its hours at www.cookcountyclerkil.gov. Chicago voters can find their sites at chicagoelections.gov.
The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 31, and the ballot must be postmarked by Election Day on Nov. 5 to be counted.