WNIJ reports on the big Illinois races

Scroll down to read our reports on contests for Governor, Senator, U.S. House races and more. Then join us (#WNIJ2014Election) Tuesday evening after the polls close for live coverage as the results come in. NPR will provide special coverage of the battle for control of the U.S. Senate. Illinois Public Radio will focus on statewide races, including referenda and constitutional offices. WNIJ News has its eye on northern Illinois Congressional races, referenda and county offices.Coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. with NPR's Robert Siegel, WNIJ's Dan Klefstad and NIU political scientist Matt Streb.We invite you to join the conversation on social media, #WNIJ2014Election

Early Voting Tops 380,000 Statewide

Northern Public Radio | By Victor Yehling

Published October 31, 2014 at 2:23 PM CDT

As of Friday, October 31, the State Board of Elections reported these totals statewide:

Absentee ballot requests: 324,631
Early voting: 372,978
Grace period voting: 9,237

That means 382,215 actual votes have been cast in person, although some of them may be provisional ballots that will not be considered until after Election Day.
Early Voting Locations

Some absentee ballots already have been tallied, categorized as provisional, or discarded due to some impropriety. Absentee ballots must be postmarked before midnight on Monday, Nov. 3, and are allowed 14 calendar days to arrive at the election authority – which means they must be received no later than Tuesday, Nov. 18.

No results from any ballots cast before Election Day will be announced until next Tuesday.