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More Than 22,000 Early Votes Cast, Chicago Elections Officials Say

By Heather Cherone | October 24, 2016 3:27pm
 A voter signs in at the early voting location at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, 360 N. State St.
A voter signs in at the early voting location at the Museum of Broadcast Communications, 360 N. State St.
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DNAinfo/Heather Cherone

CHICAGO — The presidential election may be 14 days away, but a record-breaking number of ballots have already been cast in Chicago, elections officials said.

Approximately 23,200 votes were cast at a new early voting super site at 15 W. Washington St. between Oct. 10 and Oct. 23, said Jim Allen, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesman.

The number of mail ballots requested by voters doubled as compared with 2008, Allen said. Of the more than 71,700 ballots requested, more than 13,000 have already been returned, Allen said.

That raises the possibility that the city will break the record for the number of mail-in ballots cast, which was set in 1944 at the height of World War II, when 116,000 ballots were mailed in, Allen said.

Citywide early voting started Monday, and city and county officials urged voters not to wait until Election Day to cast their ballots and face potentially long lines.

Cook County Clerk David Orr said he was amazed by the level of interest in this year's election, which features the presidential contest between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton at the top of the ticket.

"Who would have thought after the 2008 election that featured a Chicagoan running to be the first African American president that there would be even greater interest eight years later?" Orr asked at a Monday news conference.

There are currently 1.57 million registered voters in the city of Chicago — with 7,000 new registrations coming in online over the weekend, Allen said. That is up approximately 5 percent since the 2008 presidential election, the last election without an incumbent, Allen added.

The deadline to request a mail ballot is Nov. 3, and those envelopes must be postmarked no later than Nov. 8, Election Day.

The last day for early voting is Nov. 7.

Orr vowed to be on "high alert" for any shenanigans at the polls on Election Day, but noted that elections officials — from both political parties — have dismissed Trump's claims that a "rigged election" could cost him the presidency.

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