Candidates get-out-the-vote efforts appear to have worked. Elections officials are reporting an increase in early voting numbers.
Even before Election Day, more than a half million people will have cast their ballots. That's according to a final tally of early votes gathered by the state elections board. It's a jump of 118,000 from the last midterm election and governor's race, four years ago.
The board's Jim Tenuto says Illinois tried something new this year; in 2010 early voting was cut off the Thursday before the election. This time, early voters could cast their ballots in person through Sunday.
"A lot of election authorities feel that it's just a convenience factor. It's easier to vote on a weekend than it is on a Tuesday. You just wonder, are these people who would have voted anyways?"
Or is the increase in early voters a sign of increased turnout? There's no way to tell, until the polls close.
