More than 700 voters cast ballots Monday, Oct. 19, at Robert Crown Community Center on the first day of expanded early voting in Evanston.

Voters lined up before 9 a.m. at the center, 1801 Main St., Evanston's sole early voting site for the Nov. 3 midterm election, Evanston Now reported. Some arrived by Lyft. Others dropped off mail-in ballots at the facility's drop box, according to the Evanston RoundTable.

"We had a lot of voters at the opening," election judge Marc Abramson told the RoundTable. "A rush of voters. The true believers and the committed."

Early voting at Robert Crown runs through Monday, Nov. 2. Hours vary by week:

  • Mon.–Sat., Oct. 19–24: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Sunday, Oct. 25: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Mon.–Fri., Oct. 26–30: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, Oct. 31: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Sunday, Nov. 1: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • Monday, Nov. 2 (final day): 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

On Election Day, Nov. 3, polls open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Registered voters do not need a government-issued photo ID to vote early in Illinois, according to the city of Evanston's early voting notice, though bringing one can speed check-in. Residents who missed the Oct. 18 online registration deadline can register in person at the early voting site. They must bring two forms of identification, at least one showing their current address, and vote during the same visit.

Any suburban Cook County voter can use any early voting location in the suburbs, the city said. Touch-screen equipment at each site is loaded with every ballot style in the county.

What's on the ballot

Evanston voters will decide several high-profile races. Daniel Biss, who resigned as Evanston's mayor ahead of the election, is the Democratic nominee for the 9th Congressional District seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Jan Schakowsky. He faces Republican John Elleson. Biss and Schakowsky were both at Robert Crown on Monday morning greeting voters, Evanston Now reported.

In the 9th State Senate District, Democratic nominee Patrick Hanley faces Republican Tom Lally. Hanley, a Winnetka small business owner, is seeking to succeed State Sen. Laura Fine. He told Evanston Now that one of his first priorities in Springfield would be legislation allowing home-rule municipalities like Evanston to adopt ranked-choice voting.

The ballot also includes the races for U.S. Senate, governor, Cook County Board president and Cook County clerk, along with a nonbinding advisory referendum. That measure asks whether Illinois should adopt a 3% income tax surcharge on millionaires, directing half the revenue to property tax relief and half to public education funding, according to Evanston Now's ballot guide.

New ballot tracking

Cook County is rolling out new technology this election cycle. Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon said her office has received more than 200,000 mail-ballot requests and is expanding tracking capabilities, NBC Chicago reported. A system called Election Lens now incorporates U.S. Postal Service scanning data, giving officials greater visibility into where mail ballots are in the process. Voters can also track their ballots through the expanded system, according to ABC 7.

Suburban Cook County expanded from six early voting locations to 56 on Monday, ABC 7 reported.

Abramson, the election judge, advised voters not to wait. Lines grow longer as Election Day approaches, he told the RoundTable, and Nov. 2 will have the longest waits. The City Clerk's Office can be reached at 847-448-8189 for voting questions.