With the Nov. 3 election less than two weeks away, 77% of respondents say they know the Board of Education is on the ballot, up from 59% in May.
CHICAGO – More registered Chicago voters surveyed this month say they know about the upcoming Chicago Board of Education (CBOE) election than in May, according to a new public opinion poll released today by The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund). Still, fewer than half of respondents say they could name a candidate running for the board seat in their district.
The poll of 1,062 registered Chicago voters, conducted by Embold Research in English and Spanish, found:
- 77% of respondents say they know there is a CBOE election this November, up from 59% in May 2026.
- 34% say they know who represents their district on the board, up from 26% in May.
- 42% say they could name at least one candidate running for the board seat in their district.
- 46% say they could name at least one candidate for board president.
- 39% say they have seen or read news coverage about the candidates.
Nearly 9 in 10 respondents (89%) say they will definitely or probably vote in the board election, up from 77% in May. Among those not yet certain they will vote, half (50%) say more information about the candidates would make them more likely to cast a ballot.
The findings are part of a series The Fund has commissioned since the hybrid board took office. In April 2025, on a similarly worded question, 20% of respondents said they knew their district’s board representatives. That share rose to 26% in May 2026 and 34% this month.
“The voters we surveyed are paying attention. Since May, awareness of this election has grown by 18 points. Now the work is making sure every voter knows who is running in their district. The leaders they elect will shape the schools that serve more than 300,000 students,” Heather Y. Anichini, president and CEO of The Fund, said.
On Nov. 3, Chicago voters will elect all 21 members of the Chicago Board of Education: 20 district members and the board president. The fully elected board takes office in January 2027.
Voters can find their district and the candidates on their ballot in Chalkbeat Chicago’s voter guide: https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/school-board-elections-2026/
Methodology: Embold Research, the nonpartisan unit of Change Research, surveyed 1,062 registered voters in Chicago online from Oct. 5 to 14, 2026, in English and Spanish. Results are weighted to match the city’s registered voters by age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, and 2024 presidential vote. The modeled margin of error for the full sample is ±3.2 percentage points. Embold surveyed 1,033 registered Chicago voters from May 14 to 26, 2026, and Change Research surveyed 1,126 registered Chicago voters from April 18 to 23, 2025.
About The Chicago Public Education Fund
The Chicago Public Education Fund (The Fund) is a nonprofit organization that strengthens Chicago’s public schools by investing in the educators who lead them. Each year, The Fund invests more than $2 million in programs that develop and support school leaders in hundreds of schools citywide. The Fund also conducts research and shares data to inform critical decisions in and about Chicago’s public schools. For 26 years, The Fund has been a trusted partner to school and district leaders across Chicago.
Media Contact
Brooke Rayford
Senior Manager of Communications
brayford@thefundchicago.org
The Chicago Public Education Fund