Donald Trump

Chicago Voters Set Records With One Day Until Election Day

As of early Monday morning, 195,184 ballots had already been cast in the city, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners

With just one day until Election Day, Chicago voters have already set records.

As of early Monday morning, 195,184 ballots were cast in the city, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

  • For locations where you can vote early across the Chicago area click here

That’s compared to the 113,885 recorded with one day left in the 2014 midterms. The number still falls short of the 325,112 seen at this time during the 2016 presidential election, however. 

According to Marisel Hernandez, chairwoman for the Chicago Board of Elections, the city has 1.5 million reigstered voters. That's over 100,000 more than the midterm elections in 2014. 

"More younger voters are participating in this election than in the 2018 primary. There aren't the 15 and 20-point gaps in participation between the younger and older voter groups," she said. "However, we know you can do better and we're hoping you can close the gap."

More than 116,000 voters have applied to vote by mail, an all-time record in Chicago. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 6 or the ballot can be brought to the main office on the sixth floor of the of the building at 69 W. Washington St. before 7 p.m. Tuesday. 

Women are dominating the votes by mail seen so far, Hernandez said. 

"It's mostly women- 59 percent to 41 percent - that's notable given the fact that women constitute 54 percent of our voters," she said. 

Early voting lines stretched outside buildings, winding around corners and leaving many waiting for hours to cast their ballots. 

"Many of our ward sites for early voting have been overwhelmed these last couple of days with turnouts that are closer to a presidential election than a midterm," Hernandez said. 

The weekend saw a major push from both sides in Illinois as rallies for both Democrats and Republicans drew big crowds.

Former President Barack Obama was on hand at the UIC Pavilion as he continued his support for Democrats in the state. 

He urged the crowd to support a Democratic ticket that includes attorney general candidate and state Sen. Kwame Raoul, congressional candidates Lauren Underwood and Sean Casten and gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker. 

Meanwhile, Republicans held a “get out the vote” rally at a Square Celt in Orland Park, where Attorney General candidate Erika Harold and Gov. Bruce Rauner spoke.

“The fact that Speaker Madigan just gave my opponent a million dollars shows me how concerned he is about having independent checks in Springfield and shows me that my message is gaining traction,” Harold said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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