CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Early voting officially got underway in all 50 Chicago wards Monday ahead of the April 4 runoff elections for Mayor and the Chicago City Council.
Marisel Hernandez, who chairs the Chicago Board of Elections, said the theme of this compressed Spring election is, “once more, with feeling.” She said Chicagoans have an obligation to go to the polls.
“Every Chicagoan now has the opportunity and duty to come out and vote one more time to elect our new mayor, as well as vote for alderperson in 14 wards where there’s a runoff,” she said.
In addition to the early voting sites now open in each of the 50 wards, and also at the board’s so-called supersite at Clark and Lake Streets. All Chicago voters can vote at any site, regardless of whether it’s their actual ward.
Hernandez said mail-in ballots are being sent now. Officials had some 192,000 applications to vote by mail. Those must be received or postmarked by April 4.
Although officials got excited in February when they saw the mail-in voting numbers hit new highs, fewer people than expected voted on election day.
“We’re seeing the same number of voters,” Hernandez said. “I would love to see a higher percentage, obviously. It’s in that 32%–35% range, which is very low.”
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