Record turnout possible in some suburban counties

Up to 40 percent of registered voters turned out Tuesday in suburban Cook County, with nearly equally high numbers in a couple of the collar counties, officials reported Tuesday evening.

Cook County Clerk David Orr said suburban Cook turnout might be 38 percent to 40 percent, which he called "very respectable" and maybe enough to beat the 1992 record of 40 percent.

"I don't know if it's because of the candidates, the economy or the war, but we're seeing lots of enthusiasm out there today," said Gail Siegle, an Orr spokeswoman.

The same was true in Chicago, where election officials said they expected about a 50 percent turnout.

In Kane County, Clerk Jack Cunningham said some precincts showed twice as many Democratic voters as before -- which he attributed to the Clinton/Obama race, the 14th congressional seat and two new judicial subcircuits.

Cunningham estimated turnout could be 80,000 of the county's 211,000 voters -- or 37 percent. That estimate is up from 2004, when turnout was about 32 percent.

As well, more than 10,000 early ballots were cast in Kane County, up from 3,000 in last year's local elections.

Orr said early voting in suburban Cook was popular too, and overwhelmingly Democratic. Of the 1.35 million registered voters in Cook County, there were 50,698 early voters -- 40,749 Democratic, he said.

McHenry County Clerk Katherine Schultz projected a 30 percent to 35 percent turnout. That's well above the 20 to 25 percent typical for primaries.

"Most of the polling places were getting voters at a steady clip throughout the day until it started snowing, then it began tapering off," Schultz said.

DuPage County Election Commission officials said they won't know how big turnout was until later. And in Lake County, mechanical problems prevented any meaningful returns Tuesday evening.