Election Day is still over a week away, but that did not stop Chicagoans from turning out in record numbers to vote on Friday.
"As of 6:55 p.m. Friday, Chicago had 19,072 Early Voting ballots cast for the day" election board spokesman Jim Allen stated in an email. "The preliminary five-day total is 83,817 ballots since Early Voting began on Monday."
The turnout is up 59-percent from the 52,823 votes cast during the first five days of voting in 2008, Allen said.
Friday's turnout was the highest yet during a record-setting first week. On Thursday, President Barack Obama became the first president to cast an early ballot in person. On Monday, the first day of early voting throughout Illinois, more than 13,500 suburban Cook County voters cast their ballots.
Voters don't need a reason for voting early, and once a vote is cast, it cannot be amended or undone. A government-issued ID is required.