Coming Up: NBC 5 is hosting a Chicago Mayoral Forum with all nine mayoral candidates on Feb. 13. Here's how to watch.
Believe it or not, it's Election season in Chicago, with a 2023 Chicago Mayoral Race as well as other municipal races coming up in just a few short weeks.
However, if no candidates on the ballot receives a majority of the votes this election in any race, voters will likely head to polls twice.
Here’s how things will break down:
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Feb. 28 – Chicago Municipal General Election
Voters will cast ballots for citywide offices in this election, voting on:
- Mayor of Chicago
- City clerk
- City treasurer
- Alderpeople (all 50 wards)
- Candidates for newly created police district councils: 3 per district in 22 districts
The 2023 race for Chicago mayor is a crowded one, with nine candidates currently in the running: J'a'Mal Green, Ald. Sophia King, State Rep. Kam Buckner, Willie Wilson, Brandon Johnson, Paul Vallas, Incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Ald. Roderick Sawyer and Rep. Jesús ‘Chuy’ García.
Local
Apr. 4 – Municipal Runoff and Supplementary Elections
This election will see significantly-smaller fields in a variety of races. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the Feb. 28 election in any race, then the top-two vote getters will advance to a runoff election that will take place on this date.
With 9 candidates currently on the ballot for Chicago mayor, it is widely assumed that there will be a runoff for the third consecutive election cycle. In 2015, Rahm Emanuel won reelection in a runoff as he defeated Jesús “Chuy” García, and in 2019, current Mayor Lori Lightfoot won election to office when she defeated Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.
While the city clerk and treasurer’s races will be decided on Feb. 28, as Anna Valencia and Melissa Conyears-Ervin are both running unopposed, numerous aldermanic races could also go to runoffs due to the sheer number of candidates and the number of sitting City Council members that are not seeking reelection.
Both early voting and mail-in voting are currently underway.
