Election officials blame coding error for ballot shortage, long lines at some precincts

Election officials blamed a coding error for causing ballot shortages at several Chicago precincts on Tuesday, forcing people to wait in long lines for touchscreen voting machines.

The Chicago Sun-Times and other outlets reported the issue affected precincts across the city, including at polls at Holstein Park, the 1st Ward and District 4.

The issue affected “split precincts” that require multiple ballot styles because they contain more than one election district boundary, a spokesperson for the Chicago Board of Elections said in a statement Wednesday.

The spokesperson said the Board of Elections provided the correct number of total ballots to each precinct, but that an unprecedented “coding error” resulted in “an insufficient quantity of one ballot style … [and] an oversupply of another ballot style” in some split precincts.

Election officials said they began printing extra ballots and shipping them as soon as the issue was raised, as well as providing extra electronic voting machines. Precincts stayed open beyond 7 p.m., when polls closed, to accommodate the delays, the spokesperson said.

The board said it has implemented safeguards to prevent the issue from happening again. The board would not say how many precincts ran out of ballots, but said 38% of precincts required multiple ballot styles.

“The Chicago Board of Elections apologizes to voters for the error that slowed the lines at certain precincts. We applaud the dedication of the voters who stuck with us through the delay, and we thank them for their patience and fortitude in casting their votes,” the spokesperson said.