Overview
- Chicago launched ward-based early voting at all 50 locations on Monday with additional downtown supersites at 137 S. State St. and 69 W. Washington St., while suburban Cook County opened 55 sites where any suburban voter can cast a ballot.
- Officials warn voters to mail ballots well before March 17 due to new USPS postmark procedures, with guidance to send them about a week early; ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and received within 14 days to count.
- Turnout indicators are up compared with recent midterm primaries, with Chicago reporting 3,616 early votes versus 2,114 in 2022 and 1,938 in 2018, and more than 170,500 vote-by-mail applications and over 26,000 votes already cast.
- All Chicago early voting sites are ADA compliant and offer ballots in 12 languages, with hours set for weekdays 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sundays 10 a.m.–4 p.m. through Election Day.
- High-profile contests include an open U.S. Senate seat following Sen. Dick Durbin’s retirement and several open U.S. House districts, while Gov. J.B. Pritzker faces no opponent in the Democratic primary.