In the first seven days of early voting, more than 21,000 people have cast ballots. That's more than quadruple the first-week total for early voting prior to the 2006 general and 2007 municipal elections.
"This is the first year since 1928 that we have not had a sitting president or vice president run on the ticket, so it is the excitement, the campaigns, which have generated interest that we haven't seen before," said Langdon Neal, Chair, Board Of Election Commissioners.
Early voting continues through next Thursday. There are 51 voting sites across the city.
A look at early voting in Chicago
--Ballots cast Jan. 14-Jan. 20: 21,288. Early voting ends Jan. 31
--Ballots for the entire early-voting period before the 2006 primary: 14,437
--Ballots cast for the entire early-voting period before 2006 general election: 24,805
--City officials expect as many as 70,000 early votes to be cast by the Jan. 31 deadline.
Source: Chicago Board of Election Commissioners/Associated Press
