Voting early in Illinois: More sites open in Chicago, suburban Cook, DuPage counties

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The midterm elections are just 15 days away, and, on Monday morning, another batch of early voting sites opened in Chicago and suburban Cook County.

The turnout has been incredible for the first day of expanded early voting across the area.

Lynn Fleming was one of the first in line at the voting super site at Clark and Lake streets.

"I always vote early; I usually work the polls, and so that also helps that I need to get my vote in out of the way beforehand," Lynn Fleming said.

And new sites are open this year. In Chicago, early voting sites are open in all 50 wards through Election Day.

In Cook County, 53 locations are now open for early voting.

In DuPage County, they expanded their coverage from 11 to 22 early voting sites to include areas that had been previously underserved.

"My number one goal coming into this office was to increase voter turnout. And in order to do that, you have to increase access," said DuPage County Clerk Jean Kaczmarek.

Rob Eiserman also weighed in.

"There's a lot of states where they're having voter suppression, and we're just showing that we're not doing that in this state," he said.

A bridge welcoming people to the city of Naperville was decorated with voting signs on Monday.

"For the midterms, this is unique. I am seeing more people, especially on the first day," said Pam Gallahue, Naperville director of community services.

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At the Naperville Municipal Center, which serves both Will and DuPage counties, there has been a steady stream of voters casting their ballot.

"We're going on vacation and we don't want to rush things when we get home. So I want to make sure that we take care of our civic responsibilities," Bob Engram said.

You can also drop off your mail ballot at the sites in a secure drop box.

Rick Dean did just that.

"I'm a computer scientist, and the only secure vote is pen on paper, so that's why I voted absentee," Dean said.

With the November election just two weeks away, many issues are top of mind for voters.

"Very interested in women's choice issues so we want to make sure that we vote and make sure that we get the right people in office who are going to understand that and honor a woman's right to choose," Anne Sobota said.

"Things that I really worked for when I was younger seem to be issues with people that don't understand what's going on in our country," said Barb Eiserman.

Voters who cannot vote in-person can still apply for a vote by mail ballot through Nov. 3.

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Just make sure your mail ballot is postmarked by Election Day.

So far in Chicago, thousands of ballots have been cast, and over 29,000 vote by mail ballots have been returned.

Because of some recent changes, election officials stress it's important to check your polling location if you plan to vote in-person.

"Due to the recent, once-in-a-decade redistricting process, nearly half of Chicago voters may have a new polling place," said Marisol Hernandez, chair of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

A steady stream of voters wanted to make their decisions count early.

"The way the country is now, not just the country in general, but state, county, city, every vote ... counts because all of these races are very close," early voter Stan Holmes said.