Chicago volunteers travel to Wisconsin, Michigan to encourage voters ahead of Election Day

CHICAGO (WLS) — Rainy weather Sunday didn’t slow Chicagoans down in the last two days before Election Day.

Democrats and Republicans are making a last minute push to get voters to the polls. A number of Chicagoans headed to neighboring swing states to reach voters there.

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Dozens of Democrat volunteers geared up Sunday morning in the 47th Ward on the city’s North Side for a trip north to Wisconsin as part of Operation Swing State.

“Not only do they got to vote, get your family member to vote, get your child to vote, go make sure that you get your neighbor to vote,” one volunteer said.

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“It’s been astonishing,” 47th Ward Precinct Captain James Janega said. “The last 48 hours have seen just such an influx of people volunteering for these, for these outings, for these, for these volunteer canvassing trips, that we haven’t been able to keep up.”

Armed with Harris Walz signs and a sense of urgency, the group headed to Milwaukee to knock on doors, talk to people and ask them to vote democratic. Similar groups of volunteers also made a trip to Michigan.

Personal PAC CEO Sarah Garza Resnick was in Muskegon on Sunday.

“I was on the ground for Obama in ’08 and in ’12, and I have never seen the energy like I have seen today,” Garza Resnick said. “We need to be hopeful. We need to work hard for the next few days, and we have to run through that tape, and we need to sprint to the finish line.”

Meanwhile outside Chicago’s downtown Supersite, voters stood in long lines in the rain to cast their vote early.

Grace Burnett voted in her very first election.

“I mean, it was great,” Burnett said. “I actually came with my mom, and we were outside for about an hour, but it was, it was worth it. We’re able to talk to people in line. Everyone was extremely friendly. And, yeah, I’m very excited to be here, and I’m very excited to cast my vote.”

With Chicago solidly blue, Republicans were canvassing in collar counties this weekend, focusing on state races, with Donald Trump and the Republican Party embracing early voting for the first time in a presidential election.

“If you want change, vote Republican, and that message is resonating,” Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi. “We’re seeing historic numbers of Republicans early voting, and our get off the vote program, which is historic in 2024, is really working.”