First early voters at Museum of Broadcast Communications 360 North State Street, (Credit: Regine Schlesinger/WBBM Newsradio)
Reporting Susanna Song
CHICAGO (CBS) – Election Day is just four days away, and you’re running out of time if you want to vote early.
CBS 2’s Susanna Song reports early voting ends Saturday, and has proved very popular this year. Chicago and suburban Cook County both have set records this year in early voting.
Every day of early voting so far, except Wednesday, has exceeded the early voting totals of the last presidential election in 2008.
This year, there are 14 days to vote early, compared to 18 in 2008. Also, there are about 500 fewer precincts in Chicago under the new ward map.
Those changes have saved the Chicago Board of Elections $1 million.
Based on early voting numbers, officials have speculated voter turnout on Election Day could surpass the 74 percent record in 2008.
President Barack Obama was in town last week to cast his ballot early, and he put in a fervent pitch for others to do the same.
“It means you don’t have to figure out whether you need to take time off work, figure out how to pick up the kids and still cast your ballot,” he said.
A couple weeks ago, on the first day of early voting, CBS 2′s Derrick Blakely talked with voters who were surprised to see large crowds.
“I figure this is the best way to beat the crowd, but I didn’t know it was going to be a crowd here today,” Geneva McCall said at the time.
You can early vote at any of the 51 sites in the city. There’s one in each ward, and another early voting site at the Chicago Board of Elections headquarters at 69 W. Washington St.
