Illinois election officials say that nearly 3.5 million ballots have already been cast in the state, with nearly 1.7 million mail-in ballots turned in prior to Election Day.
According to the latest data from the state Board of Elections, 1,690,010 mail-in ballots have been returned by voters, with another 1,769,091 ballots cast in early voting across the state.
In all, 3,459,101 ballots have been cast with Election Day just two days away, according to the BOE.
Those numbers blow away numbers from the 2016 election, when 370,740 mail-in ballots had been returned and 1,520,694 in-person votes had been tabulated on the Sunday before Election Day.
The number of mail-in ballots could still inch upward in the state, as 673,286 mail-in ballots are still unreturned as of Sunday morning, according to election officials.
With the coronavirus pandemic still ongoing, voters across the U.S. have increasingly turned to in-person early voting and mail-in ballots, with numerous states already exceeding their total voter turnout from the 2016 election as a result.
Local
According to the state Board of Elections, Illinois has 8,307,768 registered voters, an all-time record for the state. Early voting and mail-in voting have already resulted in nearly 42% voter turnout, according to state data.
Early voting in Illinois will continue through Monday, and Illinois voters can consult the state’s election website for polling places in their areas.
