Early voting begins in Chicago — and eager voters lined up to be first to cast their ballots

Elizabeth Pullapilly is frustrated with the direction of the country.

She’s upset at how many undocumented migrants she sees on the streets of Chicago and with how expensive things have become in the past few years.

“All of this is really bothering me because lots of people are suffering, our own Americans are suffering a lot,” Pullapilly said. “This country is becoming very, very bad.”

So when the 65-year-old Streeterville resident heard from a friend at church that she could vote starting Thursday, she was motivated enough to be the first in line. She said she voted for former Republican President Donald Trump.

With 33 days left until Election Day, Chicagoans on Thursday began casting ballots in person for the 2024 elections.

Early voting in Chicago officially begun at 9 a.m. at the early voting supersite at 191 N. Clark St. and the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners' sixth-floor office at 69 W. Washington St.

All of the city’s registered voters are eligible to cast a ballot at either office. Early voting will expand to each of Chicago's 50 wards on Oct. 21. Chicago voters will be able to cast ballots at any of those sites as well, regardless what ward they live in.

Pullapilly soon had company when she arrived at the supersite at 7:40 a.m., with other eager voters lining up behind her. While a host of offices are on the ballot this November, including for the first-ever Chicago school board elections, the race for president dominated voters’ minds.

John Coleman, who was a few steps behind Pullapilly, was the first person to actually cast his ballot at the supersite.

Coleman, 57, said he was voting for Democrats up and down the ballot. His top issues, he said, were reproductive rights, social justice and protecting democracy. The Hyde Park resident said he was voting early to guarantee his vote was banked.

“When I was young, my grandfather would get me out of bed and get a special breakfast, and get me to the polls,” he said. “So voting has always been important. … And I feel if you can do it first, then you can be a catalyst and have other people follow your behavior.”

At a news conference shortly after voting began, Marisel Hernandez, chair of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, told reporters since June 1, the city has seen 49,000 new voter registrations, the majority being women and, particularly, younger women.

Hernandez said the city has received more than 225,000 mail-in ballot applications. All of those ballots have been shipped, she said. The deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot is Oct. 31, but she encouraged voters to apply before that deadline.

Zoe Ma, a 55-year-old Loop resident, has been waiting to vote on the first day possible.

Donning a scarf with "Palestine" written across it, she said she was coming out to vote out of her disapproval of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. “America has preached human rights all over the world, and then they allowed a genocide and totally dehumanized Palestinians,” she said.

She said she cast her vote for Green Party nominee Jill Stein. The party is not on the ballot in Illinois, so Ma had to write in Stein.

Nathan Cowling voted for Democrat Kamala Harris for president. “I like their positivity and their host of issues, you know, women’s rights and LGTBQ rights,” the 33-year-old Edgewater resident said, referring to the vice president and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. “And, obviously, I just wasn’t going to vote the other way.”

Election official Cynthia Webb helped voters scan their ballots once they were cast and handed them an “I Voted” stickers. She said she has been working at polls for almost 20 years.

She said she keeps working the polls because of the people. “I love the people, and I love working with the people,” Webb said. “I like seeing their happy faces.”

Hernandez encouraged voters to make a voting plan.

“Don’t wait until the last second on November 5,” she said. “You never know what can happen that day. Child issues, health issues, weather issues, work issues. Research your choices now and make a plan to vote now.”