As he entered Orland Township offices to cast his first ballot ever, Michael Saylors was still undecided.
The 19-year-old Oak Forest man quickly learned he’d have a few more minutes to make up his mind after being directed to the correct polling place. Like others Tuesday, Saylors mistakenly went to the township office to vote. The township office served as an early voting location for many voters, but on Tuesday was limited to just voters from one precinct.
“Up until this week I was definitely thinking about voting for Trump,” Saylors said as he was headed back toward his car. “Then I started looking into (the candidates).”
Chances are, he said, he’ll vote for Trump, but he said he was still unsure.
Though he figures Hillary Clinton will win Illinois, Saylors was taking his first time at the ballot box seriously.
“It’s one of the good things about this country,” he said about voting. “It’s a privilege. I’m not going to act like my vote doesn’t matter.”
Although thousands of voters across the south suburbs took advantage of early voting, polling places Tuesday were still busy.
As of 4 p.m.. 888,961 total votes had been cast in suburban Cook County, officials said. That means 58.8% of registered suburban cook county voters have already voted, officials said.
Voters expressed mixed feelings as they left the polls.
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“It’s a shame this country can’t come up with two better candidates,” said Jim McIntyre of Orland Park.
Like many others, McIntyre declined to say who got his vote; only saying that he voted for whoever he thought would “least effect the stock market.”
Others expressed relief that the campaign season has ended.
“This election cycle has been very, very difficult,” said Katrina Singer, who brought her children with her to vote at the Orland Township Offices. “It has been nerve wracking.”
She voted for Clinton, adding she didn’t agree with what Trump said. Even her 9-year-old son got a chance to cast a ballot at school this week. He will find out tomorrow if his candidate won. He said he voted for Clinton because he read that Trump was a “trouble maker.”
Oak Lawn resident Jesus Valdez, 36, said his choice for president was a difficult one.
“You’re not really sure which candidate to vote for,” he said.
Echoing sentiments of other voters, Valdez said he opted to go with what he called “the lesser of two evils” and cast his vote for Clinton. Despite scandals from her and Trump, Clinton would make a better president, Valdez said.
Others said their choice was clear. Krystle Carradero, of Orland Park, said she cast her vote for Trump, adding that the country did not “need another corrupt politician in the White House.”
In Oak Lawn, Christine Sheets, 45 stuck around after voting and handed out yellow roses with her eight-year-old daughter, Maggie, to women who voted at the village hall.
As a therapist, Sheets knows her female patients have been upset by rhetoric coming from the Trump campaign, she said. She wanted to show her support by handing out the flowers.
A few men also received roses if they were wearing Clinton buttons, stickers or other campaign gear, Sheets said. A total of 45 roses — for the country’s 45th president — were distributed to women regardless of who they voted for president.
“But they do get extra fist bumps if they are Hillary supporters,” Sheets said.
Like Saylors, many voters said they felt it their duty to vote in this election.
“It’s important to vote every election,” said Robert Brown, of New Lenox. “My responsibility as a U.S. citizen has been accomplished.”
Brown’s wife, Rita Brown, said they called all their children and told them to vote, and posted on Facebook that people should vote.
Alyssa Boisvert, 18, cast her first ballot at Grace Lutheran Church in New Lenox.
“This election has been so crazy,” she said.
She felt it was her responsibility to vote because the election seemed very close, she said.
“I just think it’s really important to have the policies you believe in be supported,” said Alyssa’s mother, Denise Boisvert.
While voters experienced lines in some locations for early voting, most polling places were running smoothly Tuesday with minimal waits. In one Tinley Park precinct, more than 600 votes, between early voting and voters Tuesday, had been cast out of just over 1,000 registered voters. Many election judges noted lines were wrapped around the buildings where they worked last week for early voting.