With the midterm elections 10 days away, early voting is underway throughout Cook County and at three Chicago-area universities as political leaders and community groups encourage residents to cast their ballots before Election Day.
A series of rallies took place across the Chicago area over the weekend, culminating with participants heading to early voting sites.
In the Roseland community, voters emerged from an early voting site while union leaders associated with employees at Roseland Hospital gathered residents for a rally.
“We’re going to take action and mobilize against big corporations,” said Margaret Haywood-Smith, an SEIU member.
Many of the union members said they are concerned about cuts to funding for the hospital. Roseland Hospital has announced it is eliminating labor and delivery services. Following the rally, participants marched several blocks to the early voting site at Palmer Park.
“The election is important because we want change for our families, our communities, we want better for our children,” said Stacy Kincaid, an SEIU member.
Similar rallies were held in other communities during the weekend, when more voters were available to participate.
At the Humboldt Park Library early voting site, voter Adam Corona said he chose to cast his ballot ahead of Election Day.
“Just to get it out of the way. Election day gets real busy. Time is limited, especially if you gotta work,” Corona said.
A group led by 26th Ward Ald. Jessie Fuentes rallied near the library before marching to the polling location to vote. Among the issues motivating many voters in the Humboldt Park community is the crackdown on immigrants.
“This community is saying we’re not gonna be shuttered into our homes out of fear. We’re going to come out and vote,” Fuentes said.
Early voting continues through Nov. 3. On Election Day, voters must cast their ballots at their assigned precincts.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is planning to send federal election monitors to Indiana during next month’s midterm elections. The ABC affiliate in Indianapolis reported that monitors will be deployed to Lake County in northwest Indiana and Marion County, where Indianapolis is located. Those two counties are heavily Democratic. The Department of Justice has not yet responded to a request for additional information.
