Overview
- Voters and poll workers reported missing paper ballots and single-machine bottlenecks on Election Day Tuesday, producing long waits at sites across the city including Holstein Park, Logan Square, Uptown and Pilsen.
- The Chicago Board of Elections confirmed Wednesday that a coding error in its ballot-quantity system transposed counts for split precincts so some ballot styles were under-supplied while others were over-supplied.
- Board officials said the total number of ballots sent to each precinct met legal requirements but that style mismatches began to surface around midmorning and the board started printing and delivering extra ballots and machines the same day.
- The board’s IT unit has added automated validation checks and other safeguards as part of an ongoing investigation that has not yet determined how many precincts ran out of one or more ballot styles.
- Some voters said the delays made them more likely to use mail or early voting in the future, and aldermen pressed the board for answers about how split-precinct complexity contributed to the failure.