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Early Voting Expands For Chicago, Cook County Suburbs

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Early voting expands today across Chicago and suburban Cook County, with the November midterm elections just two weeks away.

The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners said more people are voting early and by mail for this midterm than four years ago.

Early voting started on Sept. 27 at two sites in the Loop, and is now expanding across the city and suburbs.

On Monday, 50 more early voting locations will open in Chicago, and about 50 more are opening in the Cook County suburbs.

A government-issued ID is not required to vote early, but might come in handy if there is a question about your registration.

You can also register to vote at all early voting locations.

Last month, the county approved a $31 million contract to upgrade outdated voting equipment in the suburbs. At a time of concern about electronic meddling, officials insist new machines will be more secure.

"All the votes will go into the same scanner. We'll have digital images of them and we'll be able to do modern audits around here to ensure we prove that the software results are correct," said Noah Praetz, director of elections for the Cook County Clerk's office.

The last day for early voting is Nov. 5, the day before the general election.

A list of early voting locations in Chicago is available at the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners' website, and a list of early voting sites in the Cook County suburbs is available at the Cook County Clerk's website.

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