Early voting got under way Monday in Illinois, and thousands of people cast their ballots in record-breaking turnout.
Election officials said a record 11,748 Chicagoans voted, with some people still in line Monday evening, and another record 7,689 early ballots were cast in suburban Cook County. Nearly four times as many voters -- 2,532 of them -- turned out in northern Illinois' Lake County as had on the first day of early voting for the 2008 primary.
Gail Siegel, communications director of the Cook County clerk's office, that as of 10:46 a.m. Monday, when early voting had been open for just more than two hours, 1,736 already had voted in suburban Cook, which was more than the 1,591 who voted the entire first day of early voting in the primary.
Locally, during that time frame, South Holland saw 121 voters, Burnham saw 124, Harvey had 29 and Markham had 47.
Voters are taking advantage of the Columbus Day holiday to hit the polls and avoid the expected Election Day lines.
This year marks the first presidential general election to have early voting in Illinois.
Early voting runs through Oct. 30.
The State Board of Elections said the number of people voting early has increased with every election.
Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesman Jim Allen said they expect to double the 82,000 early voters in the February primary.
BREAKOUT
Voting early
Illinois voters can cast their ballots through Oct. 30 at 44 early voting sites within suburban Cook County.
Voters need to fill out an application at the early voting site and display a valid identification before receiving their ballot. Valid forms of ID include: current driver's license, state-issued ID card or another government-issued ID with a photograph.
Local sites include:
Burnham Village Hall, 14450 Manistee Ave.
South Holland Village Hall, 16226 Wausau
Chicago Heights City Hall, 1601 Chicago Road
Harvey Public Library, 15441 Turlington Ave.
Markham Courthouse, 16501 Kedzie Ave.
Park Forest Village Hall, 350 Victory Blvd.
Matteson Village Hall, 4900 Village Commons
Sites are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The Markham Courthouse also is open from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday.
For more information, go online at www.voterinfonet.com/sub/early_voting.asp or call (312) 603-0900.
