A coding error in the Chicago Board of Elections’ ballot-calculation system caused shortages of particular ballot papers and long queues at polling stations during Tuesday’s midterm election.
The problem affected some of the city’s “split precincts”, where voters from different electoral districts cast ballots at the same location. Although each precinct received the correct overall number of ballot papers, officials said some were supplied with too many of one ballot style and too few of another.
The board said it began printing and delivering additional ballot papers after the issue was identified, while extra touchscreen voting machines were also sent to affected sites. Polling places remained open for voters who were still waiting to cast their ballots.
Chicago ballot shortages linked to split precincts
Chicago has 1,291 voting precincts, of which 491 are split precincts. Such locations can require several different ballot combinations, depending on a voter’s address and the districts in which they live.
Board spokeswoman Julie Metea said some split precincts could have as many as six or seven ballot styles. The board used ballot-on-demand printing at its warehouse in McKinley Park and at downtown offices to replenish supplies, according to statements issued during Election Day.
Voters at several locations reported delays, with some being directed to nearby universal voting centres while supplies were restored. Officials said anyone who was still in line at 7pm would be allowed to vote.
The board has not yet established how many precincts experienced a shortage of one or more ballot styles. It said the incident was the first time it had encountered this type of error.
Additional automated validation checks and safeguards have since been introduced by the board’s IT department. The measures are intended to identify discrepancies in ballot quantities before future elections.
“The Chicago Board of Elections apologises to voters for the error that slowed the lines at certain precincts,” the board said.
Nearly 660,000 Chicago voters have cast ballots
Despite the disruption, preliminary figures released on Wednesday showed that 659,995 voters had cast ballots out of 1,565,133 registered voters.
Results had been reported from 1,241 of the city’s 1,291 precincts, while 109,215 mail-in ballots had been returned from the 242,230 requested.
The figures remain provisional as election officials continue to receive and count mail-in ballots and complete the reporting of precinct results.
The Chicago Board of Elections has 21 days after Election Day to finalise the count and officially proclaim the results. Officials said they would compare the final turnout with previous elections once all votes had been tabulated.
