Voters lined up along State Street to cast their ballots at the Loop SuperSite.
Inside, election workers rang bells and cheered when people voting for the first time put their ballots into counting machines.
20-year-old college student Olena Romantsova was a first-timer and happy to see no line when she arrived at around 7 a.m.
Early voting in Chicago ahead of Tuesday was double what it was for the March primary, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
Chairwoman Marisel Hernandez reported 211,657 residents voted early in-person.
The board had tracked more than 109 thousand mail in ballots as of Monday night - that’s up from about 85 thousand during the primary.
Hernandez says they brought back retired workers to increase the number of field investigators to address any issues.
She says the Department of Justice notified the board they will have monitors at polling places as they have in the past.
