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Cook County: Nearly 50,000 Suburban Voters Cast Ballots In 1st Week Of Early Voting


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Polling places open until 7 p.m. today through Friday

Revised with Park Forest Village Hall numbers.

Chicago, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Nearly 50,000 suburban Cook County residents have cast ballots for the Nov. 4, 2014 Gubernatorial Election in the first week of early voting, and even more voters are expected this week as weekday hours are expanded to 7 p.m., Cook County Clerk David Orr announced Monday.

As of this publication, 1,120 votes have been cast in Park Forest Village Hall.

“Early voting turnout is already impressive and it will only grow as election day nears,” Orr said. “We anticipate voters will really appreciate being able to cast a ballot after work now that all 43 suburban Cook County early voting sites are open until 7 p.m. today through Friday.”

Most sites will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, and 18 of the early voting sites will be open on Sunday, Nov. 2, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Between Monday, Oct. 20, and Sunday, Oct. 27, a total of 49,379 suburban Cook County voters cast ballots at an early voting site. Real-time early voting turnout by location is available online and a PDF spreadsheet is updated daily.

In 2010, while there were four more days for early voting, a total of 83,871 voters in suburban Cook County cast their ballots in the early voting period. Another 25,004 voted by mail ballot four years ago – the first time no-excuse mail voting was offered in a general election.

“We anticipate having more early voters and grace period voters than 2010, and mail voting is on track to set a new all-time record,” Orr said.

More than 1,400 voters have taken advantage of the grace period – now offered at all suburban Cook County early voting sites – to register or update their registration and then immediately cast a ballot. Four years ago, 1,582 voters participated in the grace period.

About 54,500 suburban Cook County voters have applied for a mail ballot. The deadline to apply for a mail ballot is this Thursday, Oct. 30. To expedite the process, voters should apply online for a mail ballot or use the mobile voter tool atm.cookcountyclerk.com.

The Clerk’s website also has a complete list of early voting locations and hours, with an early voting map and chart, and early voting totals from previous elections.

“While there is still a week for voters in suburban Cook County to cast their ballots in early voting, if at all possible you don’t want to wait until that last day, as the final weekend is always among the busiest times for early voting,” Orr said.

There are 1,397,763 registered voters in suburban Cook County.

Here are the most popular early voting sites in suburban Cook County through Sunday:

  • Orland Township Hall in Orland Park – 3,174
  • Arlington Heights Village Hall – 2,801
  • Northbrook Village Hall – 2,424
  • Schaumburg Public Library – 2,080
  • Oakwood Recreation Center in Matteson – 2,062
  • Palatine Township Hall in Palatine – 1,874
  • Centennial Ice Rink in Glenview – 1,788
  • Faith Family Future Center in South Holland – 1,686
  • Evanston Civic Center – 1,547
  • Oak Park Village Hall – 1,511

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