Over 100 early voting sites now open in Chicago, Cook County

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It’s now easier for Chicago voters to cast an early ballot in the Nov. 8 general election, with polling sites opening Monday in all 50 wards.

Dozens more early voting sites opened in suburban Cook County, as well, giving area residents more than 100 places to cast early ballots.

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The ward sites are in addition to the Supersite in the Loop, at 191 N. Clark St., and the Chicago Board of Elections office, 69 W. Washington St. Both opened Oct. 7.

All early voting locations will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays, according to Marisel Hernandez, chair of the election board.

Early voting sites will keep those hours through Nov. 7. All but the board of elections site will remain open on Election Day, as well, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Any Chicago voter can cast a ballot at any ward site, Hernandez said. But she urged Chicago voters planning to cast a ballot on Election Day to check to make sure their polling place hasn’t changed, as nearly half of Chicago residents have a new polling place due to redistricting.

“A voter living in Chicago may choose to vote at any early voting site that’s convenient for them,” Hernandez said at a news conference at the Loop Supersite on Monday.

Also on Monday, 51 early voting locations opened in the Cook County suburbs, Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough announced. Voters also can cast early ballots in her office, at 69 W. Washington St., and at a voting center at Union Station.

All locations in Chicago and the suburbs allow voters to drop off their mail-in ballots and register to vote before Election Day, Yarbrough and Hernandez said.

Voters can also register to vote as they cast a ballot on Election Day, but all mail-in ballots must be submitted before Nov. 3.

“We urge voters not to wait,” Hernandez said. “Do it now. The reason is, if you wait until Nov. 3 to apply for a vote-by-mail ballot you have to wait to get it in the mail and then it must be postmarked by Election Day Nov. 8. That’s extremely hard.”

Suburban Cook County residents should have received a notice from the clerk’s office listing the hours and location of their nearest voting location. But they still can cast an early ballot at any site.

At all voting locations, two forms of identification are required, one of which should state the voter’s address, according to Hernandez.

And though the Chicago election board has hit its target for recruiting election judges for Nov. 8, it is still looking for volunteers, just in case, a spokesman for Yarbrough said.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times