March 23--Early voting kicked off Monday at sites around Chicago and suburban Cook County ahead of the April 7 election.
Voters can cast ballots early at 51 locations in Chicago for the runoff election, headlined by the one-on-one mayoral race between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia. There are also 18 aldermanic runoffs.
All the Chicago early voting sites are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday until April 4, plus 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, according to the city Board of Elections. There's one location in each of the 50 wards, plus an additional downtown spot at the Board of Elections office, 69 W. Washington St. Voters can cast ballots at any of the sites, regardless of their home addresses. For a full list of the locations, go to chicagoelections.com.
Emanuel and Garcia have been pressing their supporters to go to the polls early or to mail in their votes, rather than waiting until April 7 when bad weather or busy schedules could dissuade people from voting. About 34 percent of registered Chicago voters cast ballots in the first round mayoral election in February.
In the suburbs, there are 42 early voting sites for the April 7 Cook County consolidated elections, according to Cook County Clerk David Orr. There are 699 races around suburban Cook County, according to Orr's office, including elections for village trustees, aldermen, park district boards and various school boards.
Suburban voters can also cast ballots early at Orr's office at 69 W. Washington St. downtown. Most suburban locations are also open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, though county courthouses in the suburbs will only be open weekdays, Orr said.
In addition, seven suburban sites will be open for early voting from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Sunday. For a full list of suburban sites, visit cookcountyclerk.com.
jebyrne@tribpub.com
