As the 2026 midterm elections wrapped up, Naperville-area voters postmarked mail-in ballots and headed to the polls Tuesday to cast Election Day votes for races that included everything from U.S. senator and Illinois governor to county board and countywide board positions.
As of noon Tuesday, 59,887 Election Day votes had been cast at DuPage County precinct polling places. Will County similarly saw about 59,000 votes cast by noon Tuesday.
“People look at elections differently. I think more eyes are on elections,” said Will County Clerk Annette Parker, citing the role she believes social media plays in making people more aware of current events.
“I think more people are going to be coming out to vote and making their voice heard and I think that’s a good thing. That’s why our office is here and that’s what elections are about,” Parker said.
Early voting, which ended Monday, was up in both DuPage and Will counties compared to the midterm election four years ago.
As of the end of the day Monday, 62,915 people had voted early in Will County compared to 43,906 in 2022.
“I’m happily surprised,” Parker said. She attributed the increase in part to a shift in thinking among some Republican voters.
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“I think in the past, Republicans came out on Election Day. That was their thing and I think Republicans are embracing some of the vote by mail and early voting, taking advantage of it,” she said.
DuPage County saw 123,026 early voters by the end of day Monday. On the same day in the midterms four years ago, there had been 86,602 early voters, according to DuPage County Deputy Chief Clerk Adam Johnson.
“There’s always a big spike on the last night of early voting,” Johnson said. “We always see a lot of people come out on the very last night, so I’m not shocked that there was a big number (Monday) since the early voting total has been really high just for this entire election.”
Johnson attributed the DuPage increase, in part, to expanded access to polling sites. In 2022, there was only site open 40 days before Election Day, whereas this year the county started with five sites for early voting.
The number of overall polling sites also increased, with 24 available 15 days before the election compared with 22 four years ago.
“I think that contributed and then I think voter enthusiasm is playing a part as well,” Johnson said.
While numbers were up for early voting in DuPage and Will counties compared to the midterm elections in 2022, they are not as high as they had been in the last presidential election in 2024, which saw 210,426 early voters in DuPage County and 119,568 in Will County.
As of the end of day Monday, vote-by-mail numbers in DuPage and Will counties were at 63,146 and 43,389, respectively.
Compared to same point in the 2022 DuPage election, there were 56,720 vote-by-mail ballots cast. Mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day can be counted and received for the next two weeks, Johnson said.
“Practically speaking, the vast majority of vote-by-mail ballots typically arrive within the first few days after the election,” he said.
In total, there were 73,351 vote-by-mail ballots for the 2022 election in DuPage and 95,658 ballots for the 2024 election.
The number of mail ballots in Will County has already exceeded the number in 2022, which saw a total of 32,238. In the 2024 election, there were 50,118, officials said.