As of the closing of voting on Tuesday evening at 7 o’clock, the turnout had reached 32.1%, with 507,852 ballots cast out of a total of 1,581,564 registered voters. Those aged 65 and older were the primary drivers of early voting, but in the end, voters in the middle age bracket had the highest turnout. Just 17% of votes were cast by those between the ages of 18 and 34.
Less vote than anticipated
Election authorities in Chicago said that despite record-breaking early voting and mail-in voting, turnout for the 2023 municipal elections may still be lower than anticipated. One official referred to the turnout thus far as “very startling.”
Almost one-quarter of the city’s registered voters have already cast votes, according to the most recent information provided by the Chicago Board of Elections at 5 p.m. Polls are scheduled to close at 7 p.m.
A Shocking turnout
The turnout so far, according to a CBOE spokesperson, is “quite shocking to see,” and hourly vote totals are running between 6 and 8,000 votes below average. While officials are hoping for a surge in voting after working hours, there is still a chance that turnout will fall short of the 40% threshold that many had anticipated.
With just less than 51%, early voting results narrowly edged out in-person totals. The 19th Ward cast the most ballots, both early and in person. The district with the second-largest number of registered voters in that ward had the greatest overall turnout rate.
Least precinct locations
Three precincts in the 36th Ward were among the at least 14 precinct locations that the Chicago Board of Elections recognised as not opening at 6 a.m. There were no new delays that the authorities were aware of. Court orders to keep polling places open later have not been issued.
The Chicago Board of Elections’ statistics show that voters aged 55 or over cast about 51% of all ballots. 28,204 ballots were cast during the busiest voting period, which was the final hour.
Vote-by-mail returns
Vote-by-mail ballots were returned in the greatest number in the 47th, 44th, and 43rd wards. A total of 113,318 vote-by-mail votes had been returned as of Monday afternoon. 53.5% of returns were made overall. The 13th, 19th, and 41st wards had the highest return percentages for mail-in ballots.
Ballots submitted by mail must have a postmark by Tuesday in order to be counted. The Board of Elections will no longer accept ballots mailed after March 14.
Very smooth & Tidy despite of turnout
Approximately 0.5% of all mail-in ballots that were returned were invalid. With two pieces of ID, one bearing their address, unregistered voters may still cast their ballots on election day at the polling location they have been given. Online maps allow voters to find their polling site.
Election Day, despite the low turnout, was “very smooth and tidy,” according to Bever. One election judge received a complaint, and 14 polling places in the city opened after the scheduled 6 a.m. time, according to Bever.
Raceoff between Vallas & Johnson
At this point in the election, 98 percent of precincts have reported their results, and Vallas is in the lead with 34 percent of the vote, followed by Johnson with 20 percent and Lightfoot with 17 percent.
A runoff election will take place in the race if no single contender receives more than fifty percent of the vote in accordance with the regulations governing local elections.
In fifth place was businessman Willie Wilson, who received 9 percent of the vote, while in fourth place was Jess “Chuy” Garca, who received 13 percent of the vote. There was not a single other contender who earned more than 3% of the vote.
