Around 5:30 a.m., Hayet Rida, a 35-year-old who lives in the Loop and became a U.S. citizen last week, was standing in line with about two dozen other voters outside the Chicago Board of Election super site Commissioners. Tuesday.
“I’ve lived here for 17 years and I feel like all the laws and stuff applied to me, but I never had a say in anything, so for me, (vote ) was a big deal,” Rida said near the corner of North Clark Street and West Lake Street.
About a half hour later, with the help of about 8,000 election judges and other poll workers, nearly a thousand polling places opened across the city. Chicago residents can vote at their assigned polling place or at one of the city’s 51 voting centers. All locations will close at 7 p.m.
The weekend before the election and the day before the election saw massive lines in parts of Chicago and its suburbs. Marisel Hernandez, chairwoman of the elections committee, encouraged people to vote in the middle of the day, when there is not much, if any, wait time. Chicago residents can learn more about the election on the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners website.
“This is a major presidential election where we regularly see over a million registered voters cast ballots,” Hernandez said. “Many voters have waited until today to vote, so there may be queues, and we urge everyone to be patient and kind.”
Max Bever, the election board’s information director, said the board hoped the rain and concerns about long lines would not discourage people from voting.
Aidan Graham, 24, of Lakeview, was also waiting in line outside the Super Site before it opened. He said he tried to vote yesterday, but didn’t want to wait in a two-hour line. Graham wasn’t bothered by Tuesday’s rain as he brought an umbrella to help him fulfill his civic duty.
“I think trying to make your voice heard is probably a good thing,” Graham said.
Hernandez said more than 300,000 Chicagoans have voted early, including about 36,000 on Monday. The city has logged more than 265,000 absentee ballot requests and about half of them have been returned, Hernandez said.
Traditionally, about 70 percent of the city’s registered voters participate in presidential elections, she added.
“This has been true in the last six presidential elections, and we expect that, and perhaps more, today,” Hernández said.
Rida, the new U.S. citizen, said she was looking forward to Election Day and wanted to be first in line. But even arriving half an hour before voting opened, she was about 10th.
Rida, originally from Ghana, said the two issues on her mind were women’s rights and immigration.
“I think immigration will always be important because it applies to me, and I have friends and family who are also affected by immigration laws,” Rida said.
Later that morning, at a boathouse along the South Branch of the Chicago River in Bridgeport, Valeria Rivera voted because she was concerned about human rights.
“I voted today because I am terrified of the state of democracy,” the 39-year-old said. She said she was particularly concerned about the president’s power to appoint Supreme Court justices.
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Rivera, who lives in Bridgeport and works in the financial services industry, said she believes her vote could overturn a “red” vote. When it comes to local issues, Rivera said she is happy to have the chance to help shape the city’s school board.
Vicky Beck, 29, of Bridgeport, voted at the boathouse shortly after Rivera. As a gay woman, Beck believed her vote could help preserve the rights she currently enjoys in the United States. The economy was another major issue for Beck.
“I feel like I couldn’t not vote,” Beck said.
Meanwhile, in Champaign County, voting systems were completely unavailable for a time across the county due to issues with their voter registration vendor, said Matt Dietrich, a spokesman for the board of directors. Illinois state elections.
More than 25 other jurisdictions in the state use the same vendor, Platinum Technology Resource, but the problem was particularly pressing for Champaign County because it operates all of its polling places as vote centers where voters of any where in the county can vote and ballots are printed. request, Dietrich also said.
“They had no printed ballots and no way to access their electronic voting records,” he said of Champaign County. “Other counties that use Platinum had at least some ballots printed for voters at their polling places so they could open and operate normally.”
This isn’t the first time Champaign County has had issues with its Election Day voting processes. During the 2022 general election, parts of the county had problems with the voting system operating slowly, causing queues.
Despite the setbacks, Gov. JB Pritzker released a statement saying he was “proud of the work…done for the election.”
“Elections are important and we are making sure we have the infrastructure here in Illinois to get that message to voters – from the top of the ticket all the way to the ballot,” he said. “Tonight, as we await the results, I hope that all of the Illinoisans who knocked on doors, made phone calls, got their friends and family to vote, and maybe even showed up at the polls elections, are proud of the work they devoted to this election. Their dedication will make a difference in the future of Illinois and this country.
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