Politics

Election Day Saw Little Drama at the Polls, Sluggish Turnout

Thanks to an evening surge in voters, Chicago's unofficial turnout for the 2026 primaries inched over 25%, with the tallying of additional mail-in and provisional ballots likely to boost the numbers even more. 

So far 396,028 ballots have been cast, including early voting, mail-in and Election Day ballots. There are 1,554,337 active registered voters in Chicago.

By age group, as is often the case, the 65- to 74-year-old group led the pack, casting 73,154 ballots. Female voters significantly outpaced males, by a margin of 223,376 ballots to 171,385.

Midway through Election Day, voter turnout stood at a sluggish 16% and had only ticked up to 19% by mid-afternoon, according to the Chicago Board of Elections.

“We came into Election Day like a lion and may be exiting like a lamb,” said Max Bever, spokesman for the board.

More than 188,000 ballots were already cast in the run-up to Election Day, leading poll watchers to anticipate a higher turnout on Tuesday.

But those early voting numbers may have been deceptive, Bever explained.

Perhaps due to warnings about a change in U.S. Postal Service policy, many mail-in ballots arrived earlier than normal. And more people seem to have shifted voting behavior, making their decisions about candidates sooner in the process and casting ballots at early voting sites, Bever said.

Turnout for primary elections continues to trend well below general elections, and that entrenched pattern has been a difficult one to break, even with high-profile, competitive races on the ballot, Bever said during a call with reporters. 

As expected, a rush of voters hit the polls between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. traditionally the busiest at Chicago’s polls. Those three hours accounted for more than 70,000 ballots cast — over one-third of the day's total.

Despite the bitter cold start to the day, only a handful of precincts didn’t open immediately at 6 a.m. Tuesday, and they were up and running quickly enough that there was no need to extend hours at those locations, Bever said.

And contrary to prior Election Days that coincided with St. Patrick’s Day, no election judges were removed for intoxication, he added.

“It’s been a nice, safe, smooth Election Day and, dare I say, a bit boring,” Bever said.

In suburban Cook County, turnout topped 21%, with preliminary totals still to come.

Contact Patty Wetli: [email protected] 

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