Campaign signs are pictured outside of a Chicago polling place on Nov. 5, 2024. (Blair Paddock / WTTW News)

More than 63% of the city’s nearly 1.5 million registered voters cast a ballot in the Nov. 5 election, according to the latest turnout figures from the Chicago Board of Elections. That number includes in-person, early-voting and vote-by-mail ballots.

Vote-by-mail ballots received over the last few days have not yet been counted; ballots will be processed and tallied on a rolling basis through Nov. 19. As such, the number of ballots cast will continue to increase in coming days.

In an update released shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday, the Chicago Board of Elections said it had received 948,643 ballots so far. Of those, 382,401 were cast on Election Day.

The busiest hour on Election Day was from 8-9 a.m., with 36,826 ballots cast, according to unofficial figures from the Board of Elections.

More than 55% of ballots cast so far were cast by female voters, according to the Board of Elections. This tracks fairly closely with the numbers from 2020.

The highest turnout by age group was by voters between 25 and 34.

‘Handful’ of Delays Opening the Polls in Chicago

During a 12:30 p.m. briefing, Chicago Board of Elections spokesman Max Bever reported very few delays opening the polls at a “handful” of locations. As of the briefing, the board was not seeing any court orders to extend the location, he said.

The board reported 155,200 ballots cast on Election Day as of noon, which Bever called a “pretty healthy turnout.”

At some precinct locations, there were issues with e-poll books connecting to same-day voting registration information, Bever said. These were voters who needed to update addresses or names on Election Day, or those who were registering on Election Day. 

The paper poll book was available to help verify information at these locations, Bever said.

One location, Ogden Elementary School in East Chatham, was affected by issues with the e-poll book. The issue was resolved within the hour after it was identified, Bever said. 

Split precincts for the Chicago Board of Elections in Ward 6 saw reports of ballots with the incorrect races. This issue was corrected in a short time, Bever said. He was unable to identify the number of voters affected by this error.

More Than 83M Americans Voted Before Election Day

Strong early voting numbers both locally and nationally can be seen as a sign of enthusiasm for the candidates in this year’s contentious election.

Campaigns are focused on every state, county, township and precinct, hoping the numbers give them an early insight into the final results.

As of about 3 p.m. Tuesday, records show almost 86 million U.S. voters cast their ballots by mail or early in person as of Election Day, including 2,384,887 in Illinois. Data from the University of Florida Election Lab’s early voter tracker show the state of Illinois with the country’s 12th highest early-vote total.

The 2024 early total represents about 40% of the total votes cast in the 2020 election.

The early vote totals in Illinois and across many other states lag considerably behind the figures from 2020, which were boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Early vote totals as of Election Day appear slightly higher in battleground states — including Michigan, North Carolina and Georgia — than in Illinois. 

According to the Chicago Board of Elections, early vote returns in the city represent 40.81% of Chicago’s registered voters. Slightly less than two-thirds of early votes this year were in-person with the rest coming by mail. Totals Monday were down 38.65% from the same time period in 2020 and up 25% from the 2016 total.

All mail ballots will be counted as long as they are postmarked no later than Election Day or dropped off at a drop box location. The polls will remain open until 7 p.m.

Reading the tea leaves on early turnout could be tough this election. While early voting has tended historically to favor Democrats over Republicans, the effort to increase GOP participation in the early vote has changed the typical distribution. 

Illinois early votes are not connected to party or demographic data, but early figures from six states show a 10% larger turnout for female voters than male, generating optimism for those who believe abortion could be a driving factor for this election.

Contact Jared Rutecki: @JaredRutecki | [email protected]