Chicago Ward and Precinct Boundaries for 2025 Elections

Ward precincts function as local election districts to determine polling places for voters based on addresses. The layout was approved by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners on December 9, 2025, with the first election using this configuration scheduled for March 17, 2026. Changes from the previous version involve boundary exchanges between two pairs of precincts in Ward 44 and Ward 50.

Use Cases

• Map voter addresses to their polling place using the 'Precinct' and 'Ward' columns.
• Analyze changes in electoral district boundaries over time by comparing the 'the_geom' field with previous versions.
• Calculate precinct-level demographic statistics by joining census block data with the 'Ward_Precinct' identifier.
• Visualize the spatial distribution of election districts for ward-level political analysis using the 'the_geom' column.

Strengths

• Boundaries are based on U.S. Census Bureau blocks, ensuring alignment with standard geographic units.
• The dataset specifies the exact approval date (December 9, 2025) and the first election date (March 17, 2026) for temporal context.
• Changes from the previous version are documented with specific ward and precinct numbers (44 and 50).

Limitations

• The row count and dataset size are unknown, making it difficult to assess scope.
• The disclaimer notes the data should not be relied upon for situations requiring legal precision, indicating potential inaccuracies.
• Sample data is unavailable, preventing verification of column formats and values.

Provenance

Source

data.cityofchicago.org

Collection Method

Approved by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners; based on U.S. Census Bureau blocks.

Time Range

Effective from 2025 onward, for elections starting March 17, 2026.

Freshness

Last updated on March 12, 2026.

Geography

City of Chicago, Illinois.