During the primary on Tuesday, March 17, 2026, more Millennial voters went to the polls than seniors and three older age groups, according to preliminary data from the Chicago Board of Elections.
For years, Millennial and Generation Z voters have had the lowest Election Day turnout in Chicago.
But the latest data show that 65,638 voters between 25 and 34 years old went to the polls on Election Day. That’s higher than seniors 75 and over (53,469), voters between 45 to 54 (53,972), voters between 35 to 44 (61,313), and Generation Z voters between 18 to 24 (19,605).
Max Bever, director of public information for the Chicago Board of Elections, said the figures are not final as officials continue counting.
On Election Day, voter turnout between noon and 3 p.m. increased by 29 percent. Between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., turnout increased by 23 percent. For the final two hours of voting Tuesday, turnout among Millennials increased by 32 percent, election data show.
Of voters who cast ballots Tuesday, 223,376 were female and 171,385 were male, according to election officials.
Overall, voter turnout in Chicago was low, with 25.48 percent of the city’s 1.5 million registered voters going to the polls, election data show.
By comparison, voter turnout during the 2024 primary in Chicago was 22.4 percent, according to archived election data.
In Chicago’s 17 Black wards, turnout on Tuesday was even lower than the city’s, with just 22 percent of 531,574 registered voters casting their ballots.
About 10 Black wards had voter turnout of 22 percent or higher. The 5th Ward had the highest voter turnout at 32.73 percent. Wards with the lowest turnout were the 27th (15.20 percent), 16th (15.82 percent), 17th (16.88 percent), 24th (16.91 percent), 28th (17.20 percent), 37th (17.91 percent), and 29th (19.82 percent).
Before Election Day, voter turnout during one month of early voting in the Black wards was just 7 percent, election data show. That means 14 percent, or 74,420 voters in the Black wards, cast their ballots on Election Day.