Early voting expands in Cook County suburbs, Chicago wards

With the Midterm Elections in Illinois about two weeks away, early voting has expanded across Chicago and the suburbs.

As of Monday, Oct. 19, early voting expanded to all 50 wards in Chicago. In suburban Cook County, early voting has increased from six locations to 56.

Chicago residents can cast their ballots at any early voting site in the city, while suburban Cook County voters can use any suburban location. Other sites are also opening on Monday in DeKalb, DuPage, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.

“This is considered a historic election, because it marks the transition to a fully elected Chicago Board of Education President and Board Members,” the Chicago Board of Elections said in a news release. “Other offices being decided are U.S. Senator and U.S. Representatives; Illinois offices for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, Treasurer, State Senators and State Representatives; several referenda, and more.”

Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon on Sunday said she’s already received more than 200,000 requests for mail-in ballots. Gordon said her office is expanding the ability to track those ballots from the time they’re first printed all the way until they return.

“We know voters want confidence that their mail ballot is moving through the process, as it should,” Gordon said. “Election Lens will now incorporate U.S. Postal Service scanning information, giving our team greater visibility into where mail ballots are in the process and how long they have been at each stage…”