The Chicago Board of Elections was contacted by poll watchers from the campaigns for the Democratic candidates for Cook County State’s Attorney who requested to review the processing and counting of Vote By Mail ballots received on Election Day and through the counting period through April 2.
"This afternoon, the Illinois Appellate Court reinstated the citywide referendum question to the March 19th Primary ballot in Chicago. The initial judgment of the Circuit Court of Cook County is vacated, and the case is remanded with instructions to dismiss the complaint for lack of jurisdiction.
All votes cast for the citywide question will be counted and reported by the Chicago Board of Elections on Election Night, March 19th."
Max Bever, Director of Public Information, Chicago Board of Elections
Early Voting in all of Chicago’s 50 Wards started today, Monday, March 4 and will be open through Monday, March 18. These sites are open Weekdays from 9:00am to 6pm; Saturdays from 9:00am to 5:00pm; and Sundays from 10:00am to 4:00pm. All Ward Early Voting locations and the Supersite will also be open as Vote Centers on Election Day, Tuesday, March 19, from 6:00am to 7:00pm.
To voters who requested a Democratic Vote By Mail ballot for the March 19th Primary Election: due to the court order that removed Ashonta C. Rice as a candidate, all ballots had to be reprinted and prepared to mail.
These ballots started mailing this Monday, February 26 and will continue to mail through this weekend.
You will receive an email confirmation when your ballot is shipped (and please check your Spam folder).
“Today, Judge Kathleen Burke granted the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings and invalidated the citywide referendum question on the March 19th Primary ballot.
The Circuit Court has not yet entered any written order based on the results of today's hearing. As such, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners has not yet moved to appeal this decision and is still evaluating its options.
Early Voting for the March 19, 2024 Presidential Primary Election in Downtown Chicago will reopen at the Supersite (191 N. Clark) and Board Offices (69 W. Washington, 6th Floor) on Wednesday, February 21 at 9:00am.
Early Voting opened in Downtown Chicago on Thursday, February 15, but was paused late on Friday, February 16 due to court order from the Appellate Court of Illinois. Click here for more information.
Voters within the City of Chicago may now apply to Vote By Mail for the March 19, 2024 Presidential Primary Election.