Elections, Local, Park Forest

Clerk Orr: Record-setting First Week Of Early Voting Leads To Consolidated Election Record


early voting Park Forest
Early voting was busy in Park Forest on Friday, November 4, 2016. (Photo: Gary Kopycinski)

Chicago, IL-(ENEWSPF)- Twelve days into Early Voting for Tuesday’s election, suburban Cook County voters set an opening-week record and cast more ballots during this Early Voting period than in any previous Consolidated Election, Cook County Clerk David Orr announced Friday.

As of this writing, a total of 564 people voted early at Park Forest Village Hall.

From March 20 through March 26, Early Voting turnout was up 37.7 percent compared with the first week of Early Voting in 2015, and up 36.6 percent over the first week in 2013.

More than 42,050 early voters participated through early Friday afternoon. This surpassed the previous Consolidated Election record of 40,693 Early Voting ballots cast in 2013. In addition to breaking the 2013 record, the April 4 election has already outperformed the 2011 and 2015 Early Voting total by 15,353 and 5,951 ballots, respectively. This is also of note considering the 2013 election featured more contested races and the Special Election for the 2nd Congressional District.

The busiest sites through midday Friday were: Orland Township (3,270 ballots); Evanston Civic Center (3,189 ballots); Tinley Park Village Hall (1,452 ballots); Oak Lawn Village Hall (1,424 ballots); and Wilmette Centennial Ice Rink (1,367 ballots).

Click here to view the daily totals of each Early Voting site.

“It’s not surprising to see a rise in Pre-Election Day voting,” Orr said. “Early Voting – in particular – allows voters to skip any Election Day lines and cast their ballot when and where it’s most convenient for them.”

Recently, the Clerk’s office debuted a new, innovative tool aimed to help Suburban Cook County early voters save time well before they cast their ballot called – Early Voting Wait Time Viewer.

The Early Voting Wait Time Viewer, created by the Cook County Department of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), is an online application that allows suburban Cook County voters to see how long – if at all – they may have to wait to vote at any of our 52 Early Voting Sites. Voters simply enter their location and can instantly view the wait times and addresses of nearby Early Voting sites directly on the map.

All Early Voting sites also offer Grace Period registration and voting. The Grace Period allows Cook County residents to register and vote on the same day. Individuals looking to participate simply need two pieces of identification, one of which shows the voter’s current address. No photo ID is necessary to register.

Early Voting ends Monday, April 3. Suburban Cook County voters can find a map and list of the Early Voting locations as well as their operating hours at cookcountyclerk.com/EarlyVoting.

Early Voters do not need an excuse to vote early, nor do they need an ID to vote early.

Voters who cast a ballot during Early Voting may not vote on Election Day or vote by mail.

The full list of candidatesreferenda, and write-in candidates can be found under the 2017 Elections section of cookcountyclerk.com.

Suburban Cook County residents can visit the Clerk’s Voter Information Tool to view a sample ballot, find their Election Day polling place and verify their voter registration before the April 4 Consolidated Election.


ARCHIVES