In a media update on Election Day, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners Director of Public Information Max Bever said that one of the most common issues on Election Day involved election judges “in about two dozen polling places” who were confused about handing both ballots to voters.
During the early morning hours of Election Day, some voters only received one ballot instead of two.
“There’s a Ballot A and a Ballot B as part of this election and there was some confusion in which only Ballot A was handed out first,” he said.
Bever stressed that voters who left after filling out one ballot should call Election Central at 312-269-7870.
“This would be the best way to help resolve this issue—not only to log it, but to talk to a lawyer or advocate,” he added. “We don’t recommend that a voter goes back to his polling place.”
He also said that there were problems with the type of writing instrument used, saying that the felt-tipped tips that judges hand out are preferred, as ballpoint pens can leave streaks or residue.
Even though there may be some “bleed-through” regarding ballots, Bever said that the votes won’t be affected unless too much force is used.
Despite those hiccups, Bever emphasized that today’s opening of voting places “was relatively smooth, compared to the primary election on June 28 that led to 56 polling places being delayed in opening.”
Today there were only a handful of delays. The polling spots were “much more fully staffed with election judges,” he said. There are approximately 7,000 such judges at polling places today.
The family member of a voter with issues accessing their polling place reached out to The TRiiBE on Instagram. Ashley Hall told The TRiiBE that her cousin and about 20 people were trying to vote from Deneen Elementary School in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood around 9:30 a.m., but couldn’t get inside to vote.
Chicago Public Schools are closed today. Hall said she called the Chicago Board of Elections for assistance, but there was no answer.
So instead, Hall’s cousin drove to two other voting sites and cast their ballot at Whitney Young Library in Chatham.
This afternoon The TRiiBE traveled to Deneen Elementary School and spoke to Amber Roper, an election coordinator at the polling place, to find out if other voters were having issues accessing the site to vote. Roper said they hadn’t received any calls from voters needing assistance accessing the site or any calls from officials from the Chicago Board of Elections.