Record number of suburban Cook County voters cast early, mail ballots in primary

A record number of suburban Cook County voters cast their ballots for the March 17 primary early or by mail, Cook County Clerk Karen A. Yarbrough announced Wednesday.

Yarbrough's office on Tuesday certified the official election results which are now available online at cookcountyclerk.com.

The election broke multiple records for a Presidential Primary election, including early voting turnout, number of mail ballots returned and number of registered voters.

The number of voters who voted by mail jumped 52% over the 2016 Presidential Primary, and early voting accounted for 56% of all ballots cast in the primary election. In the 2016 primary, pre-Election Day voters accounted for 22% of turnout.

It's the first time in any election that the number of suburban Cook County voters who cast their ballots before Election Day exceeded the number who voted on Election Day, according to the clerk's office.