Those hundreds of thousands of people voting in Cook County even before Election Day had Venessa Navarro worried about how lines would be on Tuesday.
But there was only a short line at her polling place, DePaul College Prep, 3633 N. California Ave., when doors opened at 6 a.m. And But there was practically no wait to vote all morning.
“I thought it was going to be more line. The lines on the news were ridiculous but this was easy-breezy,” said Venessa Navarro, 33, a stay-at-home mom from Avondale who voted for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
RELATED: A polarized nation finally reaches finish line RELATED: Turnout expected to be strong on Election Day
She wanted to be sure to vote because “I’m worried because I’m Hispanic and I know how (Republican presidential nominee) Donald Trump feels about Latinos,” she said. “I honestly believe that he will follow through with what he’s saying. I’m just nervous and worried.”
She plans to alleviate Election Day stress by “going home and scrubbing the crap out of my bathtub.”
According to Jim Scalzitti, a spokesman for Cook County Clerk David Orr, as of 4 p.m., about 445,000 suburban Cook County voters had cast ballots on Tuesday.
An additional 443,961 ballots had been collected from early voters who either showed up to polling stations or mailed in their ballots.
Scalzitti said there are a total of 1,512,190 voters in suburban Cook County, meaning nearly 59 percent of them had voted by 4 p.m.
Average turnout for the last three presidential elections in suburban Cook County was 73 percent and Scalzitti expected, when the final tallies are in, Tuesday’s turnout would exceed that mark.
Brad Dowling also saw those lines to vote before Tuesday – but he saw them in person.
Dowling, 43, lives in the Irving Park neighborhood and tried to vote early on Monday at the McFetridge sports complex, but the “line was insane.”
Instead, he was in and out in under 10 minutes Tuesday morning at DePaul College Prep.
Dowling, a coach and teacher at Steinmetz College Prep, is also concerned about the presidential outcome.
“Trump’s too reckless. He’s a loose canon and if he goes off at the wrong time it really do damage,” he said.
Election judges in two North Side precincts and one in Evanston said Tuesday’s turnout is the heaviest they’ve seen in years.
Kadijat Adegboyega, 33, who has lived in the Rogers Park neighborhood for 15 years and is originally from Nigeria, said it was important to vote “because I want to do what is good for America, you know, vote for Hillary. … Thank God for Obama. We want Hillary to continue what Obama did not finish.”
Adegboyega voted at Pottawattomie Park, 7340 N. Rogers Ave. So did Mustafa Rahaoui, 42, who has lived in the Rogers Park neighborhood for 15 years and is originally from Morocco.
“I love this country,” Rahaoui said. “I feel so happy to be here.”
It may have been that kind of enthusiasm that was driving some voters to the polls in Uptown.
“Based on having worked here a number of times, about four or five years at this location, I would say turnout has been heavy,” said Jeff Fulton, an election judge at Lake View Towers, 4550 N. Clarendon. “It’s been heavy since the doors opened, a steady stream.”
One of those voters was Akalu Elalla, 40, of Uptown, an Ethiopian who moved to the United States in 2009 and became a U.S. citizen.
“I feel good about this election. No matter what, it’s about freedom. I compared both presidential candidates, because I think something is good and something is bad about both of them. And then I made my choice.”
Stephanie E., who wouldn’t give her last name, was outside that polling place, vigorously scrolling on her phone before entering.
She wanted to know how well Clinton was doing in Illinois.
“I want to vote third-party, for (Green Party candidate) Jill Stein,” she said. But, she added, “I definitely want to be a part of there being the first woman president, but I’m also interested in seeing more choices in our presidential elections, three, four, five candidates. I don’t want to throw away my vote if it will affect Hillary, but what’s throwing away your vote more? Is it adding your vote to a pile of blue votes for a candidate who’s going to win anyway? Or is it voting for a third-party, so that they might garner enough votes that next time, they might qualify for federal funding and be able to campaign and give us more options? That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
The candidates hadn’t given up campaigning. Many of them were still out greeting voters and shaking hands, and some made the traditional Election Day stop at Manny’s Coffee Shop & Deli, 1141 S. Jefferson St. Among them was U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, running for the U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Mark Kirk. She was seated at a table next to Chicago city clerk Susana Mendoza, who is running for Illinois comptroller.
Duckworth, who has been ahead in the polls, called the election “historic,” given the number of female candidates on the ballot, starting with Clinton, who would become the first woman elected president.
“I’ve been talking to a lot of dads bringing their daughters out,” Duckworth said, but she added that being a woman is not enough of a reason to support someone.
“You should vote for them because they’re the best candidates,” she said.
Election judge Marvin Zellkin, 79, agreed turnout was strong.
“It’s a big turnout, really big, the most I’ve ever seen here. This my second or third year at this location, and I’ve never seen turnout so heavy. It was all morning,” said Zellkin, who was working at a polling place in a residential building at 3450 N. Lake Shore Dr.
“I’m pumped,” said Brooke Hartman, 35, who was voting there and brought her daughter in a stroller.
“I know a lot of people just want this day to be over, but not me. I feel it’s such a privilege to live in a country where you’re not going to get thrown in jail or arrested for voting. So me and my daughter, we’re partying. We’re celebrating. The country has to go on, so there is no option not to come together after this election. Whoever it is, is going to be our next leader, so we have to.”
Devon Wilkerson, 41, lives in the Austin neighborhood and voted before showing up to work at that building.
“This election was damned if you do and damned if you don’t. I’m just not too thrilled about either candidate, so it’s like picking the lesser evil,” Wilkerson said.
“I think what this election actually did was it brought out America’s true colors, and some things that they thought had gone away, but had just been hidden and waiting to come out. I think there’s going to be a lot of angry people tomorrow morning. There’s a difference between disappointment and anger. I think we’re going to see anger.”
