Chicago Polling Places Run Out of Paper Ballots Across the City; Board of Elections Investigates Split Precincts

On Election Day, Tuesday, polling places across Chicago ran out of paper ballots, “including voting sites in Uptown, Pilsen, Logan Square, Albany Park and the Near West Side,” Block Club Chicago reported, leaving voters in long lines for the few electronic machines; several sites ran out twice. The Chicago Board of Elections said the problem appeared “concentrated in precincts that use multiple ballot styles,” where split precincts can carry “as many as seven ballot combinations” It confirmed a shortage in “Ward 1, Precinct 4” and was checking reports in other wards. “We apologize. It is frustrating, but we’re working the problem, investigating and accommodating voters,” a board spokesperson said, adding that “Voters who are in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.”

The board pointed to turnout: “232,672 ballots” cast at polling places by 3:15 p.m., against “about 227,633” at the same point in 2022. Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) said high turnout “That would not explain running out by 9 a.m.” Chicago is one of the places on DOJ’s monitoring list.