By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Polls opened Tuesday across Illinois for the 2026 midterm general election after more than 280,000 Chicago voters cast ballots before Election Day. The figure, reported by the Chicago Board of Elections as of Sunday evening, represents nearly 20 percent of the city’s registered voters.
The early turnout signals robust engagement in a cycle that features closely watched races for governor, U.S. Senate and the first-ever elected president of the Chicago Board of Education.
Nearly 180,000 voters cast ballots at early voting sites in person, while more than 100,000 mail-in ballots had been returned, according to the Board of Elections. Northwestern University professor Tabitha Bonilla said the early numbers show Chicago is 30 percent ahead of turnout at the same point in the 2022 midterms.
“We have an economy that is struggling, there is a war in Iran, and people are really unhappy with Donald Trump as things are,” Bonilla said in a CBS News Chicago report.
Election judges at the Lakeview Supersite reported lines around the block throughout the week, with some voters waiting up to four hours to cast their ballots. Lines on Halloween stretched 90 minutes before voters could enter the building.
The League of Women Voters of Chicago attributed the high early turnout in part to young voters heading to the polls. The Chicago Urban League and Chicago Vote held a rally and march to the polls over the weekend to encourage voters ages 18 to 35 to participate.
“You can’t say you want change in your city and community and you’re not voting,” Alexx Brown with the Metropolitan board of the Chicago Urban League said at the rally, according to CBS News Chicago.
The ballot features several high-profile races. Gov. JB Pritzker is seeking a third term against Republican Darren Bailey. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and Republican Don Tracy are competing to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who will have held the seat for 30 years. Five members of the state’s congressional delegation are also departing.
Chicago voters are choosing for the first time the president of the Chicago Board of Education, with Jessica Biggs, Victor Henderson and Hilario Dominguez on the ballot. The winner will lead the board as it transitions to a fully elected body next year.
DuPage County GOP Chairman Kevin Coyne said more than 100,000 voters had cast early ballots in that suburban county alone.
“I think both parties have pushed early voting and vote by mail by a far greater degree,” Coyne said in a CBS News Chicago interview.
Polls are open statewide from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. The downtown supersite at 137 S. State St. is among the locations available, and voters can find their polling place through the Chicago Board of Elections website at chicagoelections.gov.
