Suburban Cook County voters set record

A record number of suburban Cook County residents are registered to vote in the March 18 primary election, Cook County Clerk David Orr said Monday. Suburban Cook County now has 1,452,141 registered voters - nearly 13,000 voters more than the previous high set in 2010.

This surge in voters comes as the clerk's office has worked to scrub the rolls of ineligible voters, taking out 135,000.

Meanwhile, voter registration outreach efforts by the clerk's office helped add eligible voters to the rolls, primarily the campaign targeting 17-year-olds who can vote in the primary if they will be 18 by Nov. 4. Nearly 5,500 new 17- and 18-year-old voters registered at registration events held at 89 high schools.