Early voting in Chicago has set records for turnout at all the 51 locations where Chicagoans have been voting since Oct. 13.
As of Wednesday, Oct. 29, 544,000 ballots had been cast in the city and the suburbs. The early voting will be open until Thursday, Oct. 30. In Chicago, registered voters can cast their ballot at any of the 51 early voter locations regardless of what ward or precinct they are registered in. Nor do voters do not need a specific reason for voting early. All they need is a little patience if there is a long line and a current government identification card.
Vote one, vote all
“We’re all forecasting heavy voter turnout for this election,” Chicago Election Board Chairman Langdon D. Neal. “Records are being set in many categories. Early voting gives people the chance to vote when and where they want, without risking a scheduling problem on Election Day.”
On Wednesday, the Chicago Board of Elections posted the wards where traffic at the polling stations has been lowest so voters can avoid long lines at their local ward. The least busy early voting locations so far have been the 10th-14th, 16th, 22nd, 25th-27th and 30th-32nd wards.
Almost 245,000 early birds, or about 25 percent of the total registered voters in Chicago, are expected to vote before the early polls close Thursday at 5 p.m. In the 2008 primary voting, only 81,690 ballots were cast early.
100% handicap accessibility at early sites
Early voting has been encouraged not only for convenience, but also because it makes it easier for people with disabilities to cast their ballot. All of the 51 early voting locations are 100 percent handicap accessible. However, on Election Day 22 percent of the polling places in Chicago are not handicap accessible. Those taking the most advantage of early voting so far are the 45 and older population, who accounted for 65 percent of the early voters.
Around the wards
Hundreds lined up across the city to vote on Saturday. At the Edgewater Library at 1210 Elmdale Ave in the 48th ward on Saturday, the lines snaked through shelves of books as some voters waited more than an hour to do their civic duty. The library’s security guard estimated around 600 people voted on this weekend. Early voting was even offered on Sundays at the Chicago Board of Elections Office.
Each of Chicago’s 51 wards, or legislative districts, has a designated early voter polling place. The Chicago Board of Elections released the early voter count for the first week of early voting, Oct. 13-19. The 48th ward, which encompasses the Edgewater neighborhood, is ranked 14th in early voting with 1,819 Chicagoans showing up already to cast their votes. The 6th ward on the city’s Southside is ranked first with 2,531 people voting during the first week.
“We believe early voting is a great way to keep voters from being left on the sidelines in this historic election,” Chicago Election Board Commissioner Marisel A. Hernandez said.
The Age of Early
Early voting was first introduced in Chicago in the 2006 primaries where it accounted for 3.47 percent and then 3.71 percent in the general election. The percentage of early voting for the 2008 primaries more than tripled the results two years ago with 11.85 percent of voters turning out early. This is the first time the procedure has been used in a presidential election cycle. Illinois is among 35 states and the District of Columbia that now allow early voting. - by Laura Burns
Photo by Laura Burns
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