The polls opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday for Illinois’ presidential primary election to a steady stream of voters.
It has been an election year filled with the usual promises and campaign rhetoric, but with more fireworks than usual. Whatever the reason, early voting in Illinois reached record levels.
By Monday, more than 130,000 people already cast ballots in the city of Chicago and more than 102,000 people cast ballots in suburban Cook County, figures that shatter the previous highs set back in 2008 when President Obama was facing Hillary Clinton.
Cook County Clerk David Orr said most of the early voters have been over 50 years old, but they've also seen a surge in younger voters coming out in force already. About 71 percent of the early voters chose a Democratic ballot and 29 percent Republican, which is not unusual for Cook County.
The previous record turnout for a primary election was also in 2008, with 53 percent of registered voters casting ballots. Election officials predict to end up with somewhere near that same amount today. Polls close at 7 p.m.
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