Early voting begins in Chicago – and eager voters are lining up to be the first to cast their ballot

Elizabeth Pullapilly is frustrated with the country's development.

She's upset about the number of illegal migrants she sees on the streets of Chicago and how expensive things have become in recent years.

“All of this really concerns me because a lot of people are suffering, our own Americans are suffering a lot,” Pullapilly said. “This country is doing very, very badly.”

When the 65-year-old Streeterville resident heard from a friend at church that she could vote starting Thursday, she was motivated enough to be first in line. She said she voted for former Republican President Donald Trump.

With 33 days remaining until Election Day, Chicago residents began voting in person for the 2024 election on Thursday.

Early voting in Chicago officially began at 9 a.m. at the early voting supersite at 191 N. Clark St. and at the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners' sixth-floor office at 69 W. Washington St.

All registered voters in the city are eligible to vote at both locations. Early voting will expand to all 50 Chicago counties on October 21st. Chicago voters can also cast their ballot at any of these locations, regardless of which district they live in.

Pullapilly soon had company as she arrived at the supersite at 7:40 a.m. and other eager voters lined up behind her. While a variety of offices are on the ballot this November, including Chicago's first school board election, the presidential race dominated voters' minds.

John Coleman, who was a few steps behind Pullapilly, was the first to actually cast his vote on the supersite.

Coleman, 57, said he consistently voted for Democrats in the poll. His main topics are reproductive rights, social justice and the protection of democracy. The Hyde Park resident said he voted early to ensure his vote was secured.

“When I was little, my grandfather would get me out of bed, give me a special breakfast and take me to the polls,” he said. “So voting has always been important. … And I think if you get there first, you can be a catalyst and get other people to follow your behavior.”

At a news conference shortly after the election began, Marisel Hernandez, chairwoman of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, told reporters that there had been 49,000 new voter registrations in the city since June 1, the majority being women and especially younger women.

Hernandez said the city has received more than 225,000 absentee ballot applications. All of those ballots have been mailed, she said. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 31, but she encouraged voters to apply before that deadline.

Zoe Ma, a 55-year-old Loop resident, has been waiting to vote on the first possible day.

She donned a scarf that read “Palestine” and said she wanted to vote out her opposition to the Israeli offensive in Gaza. “America preached human rights around the world, and then they allowed genocide and completely dehumanized the Palestinians,” she said.

She said she cast her vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein. The party isn't on the ballot in Illinois, so Ma had to write in stone.

Nathan Cowling voted for Democrat Kamala Harris for president. “I like her positivity and her variety of issues, you know, women's rights and LGTBQ rights,” the 33-year-old Edgewater resident said, referring to the vice president and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. “And of course I just didn’t want to vote any other way.”

Elections Supervisor Cynthia Webb helped voters scan their ballots after they were cast and gave them a sticker that read “I Voted.” She said she has worked on elections for nearly 20 years.

She said she continues to participate in the polls because of the people. “I love the people and I love working with them,” Webb said. “I like seeing their happy faces.”

As busy as the first day of early voting was, no records were broken. By the time polls closed on Thursday, a total of 1,212 voters in Chicago had cast their ballots early. That's fewer than the 1,484 on the first day of early voting for the 2020 presidential election, but more than double the 541 ballots cast on the first day in 2016.

In addition to in-person voting, 213 mail-in ballots had already been returned as of Thursday, bringing the total number of ballots received to 1,425.

Hernandez encouraged voters to make a voting plan.

“Don’t wait until the last second on November 5th,” she said. “You never know what can happen that day. Children's problems, health problems, weather problems, work problems. Educate yourself about your choices now and plan to vote now.”