{"id":44557,"date":"2016-10-26T10:54:36","date_gmt":"2016-10-26T15:54:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=44557"},"modified":"2016-10-26T13:48:44","modified_gmt":"2016-10-26T18:48:44","slug":"new-early-voting-location-draws-more-traffic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/new-early-voting-location-draws-more-traffic\/","title":{"rendered":"New early voting location draws more traffic"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Christen Gall<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reyna Hernandez wanted to make a difference in the election by casting her vote early on the second day of the early voting period.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt felt like a really important statement and to see the numbers changing early, that\u2019s one of the other reasons why I think voting early was important because it starts to send a message as folks are seeing the numbers of people voting early,\u201d said Hernandez.<\/p>\n

Chicago\u2019s new voting location a few buildings down from the corner of Washington and State block, a former Walgreens, was crowded around noon Monday. Signs with early voting \u00a0were posted outside, drawing attention to the early voting location. The new \u201csuper\u201d site was created to handle a larger number of voters.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Jim Allen, spokesperson for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, could not give official numbers for the early voter turnout, but noted that \u00a0on the second day of \u00a0early voting, the turnout was higher than four years ago on the 15th day of voting.<\/p>\n

\"Signs<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners moved this downtown voting location to 15 W Washington St. to accommodate more voters for the Nov. 8 election. Early voting started on Oct. 24 in Illinois. (Christen Gall\/ MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Voters<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Voters wait in line to vote early in downtown Chicago on Oct. 25, 2016, the second day of early voting in Illinois. (Christen Gall\/ MEDILL)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"Rows<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Chicago residents vote early in downtown Chicago for the Nov. 8 election on the second day of the early voting period on Oct. 25, 2016. <\/figcaption><\/figure>
\"I<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Voters pick up an I Voted! wrist brands at 15 W Washington St. after casting their ballot on Oct 25, 2016. (Christen Gall\/ MEDILL).<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n

\u201cThe downtown site definitely triples our capacity for those who come downtown, but we’re seeing pretty strong use of all 51 sites,\u201d Allen added.<\/p>\n

Early voting started in Illinois on Oct. 24, and with a large downtown polling place and a location in each ward. The downtown voting location was previously in the basement of the Board of Election building, now just feet away from State street\u2019s busy shopping strip.<\/p>\n

This year early voting takes place in 37 states and Washington, DC. In 2000, only 16 percent of voters cast nationally were early or by absentee vote and by 2012, 35 percent of voters cast a ballot early, according to AP Election Group. Since 1996 early voting has increased three times the percentage, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The AP Election Group estimates that the number will grow to 40 percent for this highly media covered presidential election.<\/p>\n

Hispanic voters nationally had the highest early voter turnout rate during the 2014 midterm election with 36.8 percent of registered voters coming out early, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.<\/p>\n

Across the nation, there were news reports of spurts in early voting in a number of states.\u00a0As of Tuesday,\u00a0 267,317\u00a0 people have voted early across Illinois with over 114,456\u00a0 sending in a mail in ballot according the Illinois Board of Elections.<\/p>\n

Christopher Swann, who lives in Chatham, said the line moved quickly when he showed up at the polling station in downtown Chicago.It only took him about five minutes to get through.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a little more convenient than trying to wake up early super early on a Tuesday morning before I go to work to try to get in my vote,\u201d explained Swann.<\/p>\n

A Democrat, Swann said he was voting for Clinton for president and Duckworth for state senator.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing that Trump says that resonates with me as a voter,\u201d said Swann.<\/p>\n

Lucy Freccia, who lives in the \u00a0Logan Square area, came downtown specifically to vote early.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was worried that I wouldn\u2019t have time on election day or that the lines would be too long and it\u2019s just nice to get it off your checklist,\u201d said Freccia.<\/p>\n

Hernandez, who lives on Chicago’s North Side, \u00a0always votes early in elections and said the process went quickly when she came to vote around lunchtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always vote early. One, you avoid the lines. I think it was in and out in 6-7 minutes,\u201d said Hernandez. \u201cIt\u2019s done and taken care of. Obviously voting is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems they expanded capacity here,\u201d said Hernandez. \u201cIt\u2019s an easier location to get to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think a lot is at stake in this presidential race. The future of the country, not just politically, but also socially is really on the line with this election, so it was really important,\u201d added Hernandez, who voted mostly Democrat on her ballot.<\/p>\n

Chicago residents vote early for the 2016 general election at 15 W Washington St. on Oct. 25. (Christen Gall\/ MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Christen Gall Reyna Hernandez wanted to make a difference in the election by casting her vote early on the second day of the early voting period. \u201cIt felt like a really important statement and to see the numbers changing early, that\u2019s one of the other reasons why I think voting early was important because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":297,"featured_media":44583,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2941,2951],"tags":[3159,3158,2274,3160,3166],"class_list":["post-44557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-2016","category-politicsnational-security","tag-chicago-board-of-election-commissioners","tag-early-voters-in-illinois","tag-early-voting","tag-early-voting-trend","tag-early-voting-u-s"],"yoast_head":"\nNew early voting location draws more traffic - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/new-early-voting-location-draws-more-traffic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New early voting location draws more traffic - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Christen Gall Reyna Hernandez wanted to make a difference in the election by casting her vote early on the second day of the early voting period. \u201cIt felt like a really important statement and to see the numbers changing early, that\u2019s one of the other reasons why I think voting early was important because […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/new-early-voting-location-draws-more-traffic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-10-26T15:54:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-10-26T18:48:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/10\/EarlyVoting.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"578\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"christengall2016\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"christengall2016\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/new-early-voting-location-draws-more-traffic\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/new-early-voting-location-draws-more-traffic\/\",\"name\":\"New early voting location draws more traffic - 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