The Chicago Board of Elections is urging voters to look at their new precinct map before voting in the upcoming election.  

Chicago went from having 2,069 precincts to 1,290 for its 50 wards.

Max Bever, director of public information for the Chicago Board of Elections, says this process happens once every 10 years in Chicago as City Council reworks the ward map.

“That map was passed May of this year, a little bit later than it usually is,” Bever said. “Once that passed, the Chicago Board of Elections does have to redistrict, put people in their new wards.”

Bever says fewer precincts doesn’t necessarily mean there will be fewer polling places.

“The Chicago Board of Elections tries to have one precinct per polling place,” he said.

This year’s redistricting means there will be more polling locations that will only serve a single precinct, allowing for better staffing of election judges. 

“This upcoming election due to these recent changes we now have 946 physical polling places that will be servicing 1,290 precincts,” Bever said.  

Bever encourages voters to check their website to make sure they go to the correct polling place to cast their ballot. You can find that website here.