Early voting begins in Chicago

CHICAGO - Some Illinois voters are getting a jump on casting their ballots a month before Election Day.

"For me there's a little bit more security knowing that I got it done. You know, slip the ballot in the machine and away you go," one man said.

Early voting is now underway in Chicago and some suburbs.

Urging everyone to vote early, a group that plans to make dozens of stops across the country arrived at an early voting site in the Loop Monday afternoon.

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"We're targeting millennials, we're targeting historically Black colleges. We're looking at some of the most critical, at-risk communities across America and focusing our energy on mobilizing, galvanizing them. One of the things that Rev. Jackson's been effective in helping us understand is the highest office in America is not the president, it's the citizen," said Bishop Tavis Grant of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

The Board of Election Commissioners reports that while fewer than 600 Chicagoans have so far voted in person, more 164,000 have signed up to vote by mail. Both numbers are running ahead of the near-record low pace seen during last June’s primary election, when less than 23% of registered voters bothered to cast a ballot.

"It's always good to get it done and make sure that you feel good … voting is such a privilege," said Brenda Morgan.

The two early voting sites in the Loop are open seven days a week through Nov. 8th.

Beginning Oct. 24th, 50 more early voting sites will be added, one in each ward.