Jan 14, 2008 6:52 pm US/Central
Early Voting Underway In Illinois
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
The Illinois primary isn't until next month, but thanks to early voting, you don't have to wait that long to cast your ballot.
Reports in McHenry County show that early voting is showing great numbers and is expected to be popular all around the area, since it's a presidential election year and two of the candidates are from the Chicago area.
Monday was the big kickoff for early voting, with 44 early voting sites in suburban Cook County and 51 sites in Chicago. All of those sites are accessible to people with disabilities; officials estimate 500,000 disabled people live in Chicago alone.
"Voting is one of the most fundamental rights that this country affords its citizens. It's a right that disabled advocates have been fighting to see realized for disabled people over the last two decades," said Marca Bristo, President and CEO of Access Living.
A kickoff for early voting was held at Access Living's headquarters at 115 W. Chicago Av., one of the city's early voting sites.
Officials in Cook County expect people to take advantage of the 18-day program in larger numbers than before, especially since it is the first time that early voting is available in Illinois during a presidential race. Plus, with more than 1.3 million registered voters, suburban Cook County has its highest registration level ever, including all eight McHenry County early voting locations.
"It's beautiful, very nice," said early voter Josephina O'Rourke.
It is the first time Illinois voters can cast early ballots for the presidential primary, which may account for the enthusiasm and a big spike in voter registration.
"I haven't seen registrations come in like we saw them come in last week in many, many years," said McHenry County clerk Kathy Schultz.
Another boost CBS 2 found over and over Monday is the Obama factor. The Illinois senator's supporters were out in big numbers – even in the widely Republican county.
"I'm an Obama person," said early voter Paul Lockwood. "I think he's on the ball and think that he has the leadership skills that would be great to have in the White House."
"They can say he doesn't have any experience, so you know who I voted for," said early voter Juil Wasmond. "He doesn't need any."
Early voting runs until Jan. 31. In Chicago and suburban Cook County, all early voting places are open by 9 a.m. and stay open until at least 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. On Saturday, those sites are open from 9 a.m. until noon and on Sundays, limited locations are also open 9 a.m. to noon.
Registered voters can case the early ballots until Jan. 31; those who have not registered can register and vote through the 22nd. You need a government-issued photo ID to cast an early ballot and if you do, you'll be using touch-screen technology only.
Chicago Election Board Chairman Langdon Neal said, "all voters should know that when they vote, the votes are stored in our central computer system through a very secure network, complicated with overlapping security" until the primaries on Feb. 5.
"Words cannot describe the opportunity when you get out to vote freely," said Herman Andalcio. "I want to be the first person, I want to feel good after today."
He was the first person in line at the early voting site at 69 W. Washington St. and was thrilled to have the opportunity because he will not be able to vote on Feb. 5.
Remember, unlike absentee balloting, you need no reason to vote early.
For Information on the location and hours of each early center:
Click
here for Chicago voters,
Click
here for suburban Cook County voters,
Click
here for McHenry County voters,
Click
here for DuPage County voters
Click
here for Lake County voters
Click
here for Kane County voters
Click
here for Grundy County voters
Click
here for Kankakee County voters
Click
here for DeKalb County voters
Or go at
elections.il.gov for other parts of Illinois.
CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman and Katie McCall contributed to this report.cbs2chicago.com's Most Popular Pages 
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