Early voting in suburban Cook County has hit a record high for a presidential primary, Cook County Clerk David Orr's office announced Thursday. 

"At the end of the day Wednesday, 59,578 suburban Cook County voters had cast their ballots in early voting, surpassing the 51,116 early votes which were cast in the 2008 Presidential Primary," reads a news release. "Voters have also mailed in more than 12,000 ballots, which exceeds the previous high mark for a presidential primary of 9,667 mail ballots returned in 2012."

Early voting began last week and runs through March 14. Illinois holds its primary on Tuesday.

"With nearly five days of early voting remaining, we've already broken the record we set in 2008," Orr said. "In-person early voting is something voters expect, and it's become an ingrained part of the election process."

As of Monday, Democrats and Republicans represented about 71 percent and 29 percent of the Cook County suburban early voters, respectively, according to the clerk's office.

Additional information about early voting totals, locations and hours can be found on the clerk's website.