Voter turnout strong across suburbs

Officials say an anticipated late rush to the polls did not materialize Tuesday night, but voter turnout still was slightly higher than average.

Courtney Greve, from the Cook County Clerk's Office, said she expected a higher than normal turnout in the suburbs, but numbers dwindled after a strong turnout early in the day.

“I still think that we are going to be at around 50 percent,” Greve said. “We didn't get a huge rush at the end of the night that we thought we might get.”

Lake County Clerk Willard Helander said lines of voters were visible at several locations when the polls opened at 6 a.m., but the Lake County turnout was slightly lower than expected.

“We are looking at 51 (percent) to 52 percent in the past two elections,” Helander said. “We were hoping today that we were closer to 53 (percent) today so we are kind of bummed.”

Still, she said, the governor and U.S. Senate races generated lots of interest.

“Seeing the great participation in this election is pretty darn exciting,” she said.

Kane County Clerk John Cunningham said turnout in the county looked to be at just about 50 percent, which was slightly higher than anticipated.

“We were hoping for between 44 (percent) to 50 (percent) in the general,” Cunningham said. “It's about what we thought it would be.”

DuPage voters turned out in similar numbers, with preliminary numbers coming in right around 50 percent, officials said.