How to Vote in the US Midterms: Chicago's Last Day of Early Voting Is Monday, With 55 City Sites and 56 Suburban Sites Open
Monday, November 2 is the last day to vote early in Chicago and suburban Cook County. On Tuesday the polls run 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. — here are the sites, the hours and the mail-ballot rules that still apply.
Monday is the last day of early voting for the November 3 midterm and gubernatorial election, and the question leading national search — how to vote in the US midterms — has a concrete local answer. In Chicago, all 55 early-voting sites reopen Monday, November 2 at 9 a.m., according to The Chicago Messenger's locations guide, and suburban Cook County voters can use any of the Clerk's 56 early-voting locations through Monday, regardless of where in suburban Cook County they live.
The hours differ by site type. The Cook County Clerk's office, as carried by The Lansing Journal, lists six courthouse voting sites open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through November 2, municipal sites open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, and extended-hours sites open until 7 p.m. on November 2. In the city, the Chicago Patriot's voter guide — whose dates come from the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners' official 2026 calendar — records downtown early voting at the Voting Supersite at 137 S. State St. and the Board's offices at 69 W. Washington St., with voting in all 50 wards since October 19.
Turnout is already running ahead of the last comparable election in the suburbs: the Clerk's office reported 139,000 suburban Cook County early ballots through Tuesday, October 27 — 30 percent ahead of the pace of the 2022 gubernatorial election. Voters can check registration, find their polling place, view a personalized sample ballot and track a mail ballot at cookcountyclerk.com/VoterInfo.
After Monday, the remaining route is Election Day itself: Tuesday, November 3, polls are open 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Chicago voters may vote at their precinct or at any vote center in the city. Mail ballots returned in person or by drop box must be in by the close of polls, and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday. The last day to request a mail ballot by mail or online was October 29.
