Almost 550,000 suburban Cook County voters showed up at the polls or mailed in a ballot ahead of the 2024 general election Nov. 5.
This election will determine not only the United States president and vice president for the next four years, but also numerous other federal, state and local elected positions. In Riverside, voters will decide if the village can enact a higher property tax levy this year so it can maintain roads going forward.
In Brookfield, 10,957 voters came early to vote at Village Hall. Early voting was open Oct. 21 to Nov. 4 here. The biggest day for early voters was Nov. 4, with 882 locals casting their ballot.
Comparatively, for the 2024 primary election, only 2,215 local people voted early at Oak Park’s Village Hall. In the November 2020 general election, 10,944 voters cast a pre-Election Day ballot in Brookfield.
In Chicago, some residents faced wait times up to three hours at early voting sites. Lines are common for early voting, according to Block Club Chicago, but this year it was much greater.
In suburban Cook County, early voting began Oct. 9. The Cook County Clerk’s Office published a time-lapse video showcasing the polling equipment to be used on Election Day, Nov. 5. More than 1,400 voter supply carriers will be used at suburban precincts, according to a Cook County news release.
The video shows the Clerk’s Election Operations Center, a warehouse where election equipment is stored and where ballots are processed, according to the release.
By Nov. 4, more than 78 million Americans had already voted, according to The New York Times. That’s roughly 34% of the 231 million eligible American voters.
On Election Day, suburban voters can exercise their right to vote at their home precinct between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Voters can find their polling place, check their registration and even view a sample ballot online.
