Cook County Clerk Offers 'Wait Time Viewer' For Early Voting

COOK COUNTY, IL -- Early voting for the March 20 gubernatorial primary election is now underway. Suburban Cook County voters have 53 sites to choose from to vote early, ten more than were open for 2016 presidential primary election. The sites, including those at suburban courthouses, are all open seven days a week, up until the day before Election Day.

“Early voting has become more popular with every election, and my office has continually worked to make the experience even better for suburban Cook County voters,” Cook County Clerk David Orr said in a news release.

>>> Patch's 2018 Illinois Primary Voters Guide

Orr noted one new feature introduced by the clerk’s office to make the early voting experience quicker and easier for voters is a Wait Time Viewer on the clerk’s website. Viewable either on desktop computers or mobile devices, the Wait Time Viewer provides visitors with an interactive map that will show the wait time – if any – at each of suburban Cook County’s early voting sites. Since voters can cast their ballots at any early voting site, they can, for instance, choose another nearby site if the wait is too long at the one closest to their home or work. The site updates every 20 minutes.

Cook County residents who missed the voter registration deadline for this election can still register, at any of the early voting sites up until March 19, the day before the primary. During this grace period, voters not yet registered must provide two forms of identification to register, and they must vote in person at the time that they register.

Suburban Cook County voters can find a map and list of the Early Voting locations and their hours at Cook County Clerk early voting sites.

Hours at Cook County early voting sites are as follows:

• March 5 through March 10, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• March 11 and March 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• March 12 through March 16, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• March 17, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• March 19, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.