The early votes are in. But now the real fun begins. Election day. Polls open this morning at 6 AM and stay open until 7 PM.
Here are some important numbers for Election Day. Jot these down.
- Chicago Board of Elections Main Line 312-269-7900.Blognotes #1: Citizen Journalist. Bring a camera if you can. Take photos if you see any funny business or hanky panky. You can send them to me with the precinct #, ward number, and a bit of what you saw. craiggernhardt@comcast.net
-Election Central for legal, investigative and language assistance, 5am to 10pm, Election day only 312-269-7870.
-To verify registration and for proper Precinct Polling Place 312-269-1604.
Blognotes #2: I started this website in November 2004, long before blogging was considered cool. I had about 100 readers. Now it's all the rage. Yesterday stat-counter registered over 5000 page views and 3200 unique visitors. I'm sure we'll pass that mark today. This marks my 4th year of covering Rogers Park elections - blog style. I'm expanding the territory today and will cover Edgewater and Uptown too. I'm following a couple referendums in the 46th (housing issue) and 48th (lakefront issue) wards.
Enjoy todays election coverage on the 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park. And feel free to chime in at any time.
Update #1: Where will you be watching the returns? If you're an 'Uptown Update' reader, they've got a party lined up. It's a bit pricey ($25 bucks) according to a commenter. But then again, it's a fundraiser another commenter added.
Update #2: Lines. Yes, there's lines. In all my years of voting - my precinct (26) has never had a line so early. I counted 31 people at 6 AM. Be prepared to wait. If you've voted already, tell us how your precinct was this morning. Include the time and precinct #. Which numbered ballot were you?
Update #3: 911 call. 5700 North Sheridan. 48th ward, 27th precinct. Homeless panhandlers are aggressively harassing the voters waiting in line to vote.
Update #4: According to a close source, polls didn't open until 6:30 AM at the Rogers Park Library. 6907 North Clark Street. 49th ward/4th precinct. Then the election judges demanded to see photo id's. The line of over a 100 got very angry according to the source who was standing in line. Judges were informed no id was needed and voting resumed.
Update #5: Craig, Here you go... I posted this on the NPR blog today.
Bon, Shanna and I went to vote (26th precinct at Loyola) and out of curiosity decided to see if Meghan was eligible to vote today. She was - her card was in there and she wasn't on the "do not allow to vote" list (I had to ASK him to check the list since he wasn't doing it for everyone as he should). Now you might ask why SHOULDN'T Meghan be eligible? Well she's definitely a resident and definitely registered to vote.
One small technicality. SHE ALREADY VOTED!!!!
She's in Seattle on an internship for a few months and requested, received and sent in her absentee ballot. The problem is that she just sent it in a couple days ago. So there's the catch AND the lack of proper audit at the Board. When someone REQUESTS an absentee ballot they should be flagged - NOT after they've sent in the ballot, unless of course they're checking all absentee ballots that come in AFTER the election to see if someone voted on site already. Fat chance that's happening.
So there you go. You want to pad the ballot box. VERY easy. Get a whole bunch of people to request absentee ballots, have them postmarked a couple days before the election and you've doubled your constituency! And we haven't even broached the subject of that kid not checking the "do not allow to vote" list!
Don
Update #6: Kevin_d wrote.... When I cast my vote on the electronic voting machine a bunch of quarters came spitting out of bottom...That's what I get for voting for change!
Update #7 - 7 PM: Polls closed. I'm going out on a limb and predict Barack Obama will win the state of Illinois.
16 comments:
Here's an email from a 46th ward reader.
Craig,
I don't know what you encountered at 6:30 this morning, but the line at my polling place was ONE BLOCK LONG.
I'll return later today, but this is crazy.
--Dave
Another emailer. Arrived at 6:54 AM. Reader tried contacting the #'s I listed.
Craig:
PCT 35, Ward 49 - Polling place on Fargo east of Sheridan. I get my ballot, fill out the front, and flip it over and half of the judges on page two have already been filled out for me, along with the Impeachment question.
I asked for a new ballot and they took the original one from me and of course nobody knew how that happened.
A mad voter.
PS. Also would like to add that it's impossible to get through to the phone number for election issues.
I voted at Leona's (Sheridan & Morse) this morning. I arrived at 6:40 a.m. and the line stretched well into the parking lot. I waited 45 minutes just to get inside. The entire process took 90 minutes. It was organized and orderly.
The good news is fantastic voter turn out!
VB on November 4, 2008 8:51 AM
Voting this morning at Field Elementary in Rogers Park was a nightmare. Only one election judge was in attendance. In the hour that I was there - great turnout for 6:20 a.m.! - he turned away two people who needed to vote provisional ballots.
These voters have to use the touchscreen machine, but the machine given to our precinct had broken legs. The judge refused to set the machine up on a table.
And of course we couldn't get through on the phone to the Election Commission to report him, nor to get someone to come fix the machine. Source.
Let the games begin.
The polls are overwhelmed. The system isn't geared for this kind of turnout.
At least it isn't a LOCAL election- that's where the real games are.
Got to Gale School to vote in the 30th precinct, Ward 49 at 6:10. The line was just barely out the front door, made it to the front of the line in about 40 minutes, and had only several blowups while waiting. The woman taking your name is NOT going to be fun after a few more hours of this. She was very snappy after only 30 minutes. Voted, smiled, got out.
War 49, Precinct 5 - 7450 N. Rogers polling place
I went in at 6:45, left around 7:50. The process is very slow, I think due to the fact that there are only 6-7 booths set up for voting.
I'm glad I took care of this during the early voting process. I've been an election judge a few times before, and it's never pretty. Tensions are high, and loud cussing matches and near fights are not uncommon.
Then you have to deal with the local politicians coming around, trying to figure out how things are going. They usually show up with donuts in the morning, and arrange to have lunch sent in later. Many of them use this as an opportunity to promote themselves, even if their name is not on the ticket.
There's always a few voters who didn't get the message that they had to register or send in a change of address in enough time so they could vote. They start snapping about voter fraud, and threatening to call the Board of Elections.
The pollwatchers are in the mix, too, and the precinct captain may or may not appreciate their presence. My late dad was the number one precinct captain in Cook County. I served as an election judge in his precinct a couple of times. He saw some pollwatchers standing over in a corner and grumbled to me, "We don't like pollwatchers." Dad was a Democratic Machine guy through and through.
Last but not least, are the other election judges themselves. Some of them may or may not have been paying attention during the training class for election judges. One sure way to find out is to observe how they handle issues that come up during the day. Another telltale sign is how prepared they are when the doors open at 6:00 AM, and how well they close things at 7:00 PM.
We voted at around 10 this morning and the 31 precinct at the 49th ward and had no issues. We had one person in front of us and that was it.
The poll judges were helpful, polite and knew their game plan. Our neighbor did tell us that when she went to vot early today, there was a huge line, the judges were missing and there was a problemw ith the pens.
We voted at around 10 this morning and the 31 precinct at the 49th ward and had no issues. We had one person in front of us and that was it.
The poll judges were helpful, polite and knew their game plan. Our neighbor did tell us that when she went to vot early today, there was a huge line, the judges were missing and there was a problemw ith the pens.
Voted this morning at the police station on Clark, 28th precinct, 40th Ward.
One idiot judge wanted to see my ID & had to be told that if the paper was white, no ID was needed.
For this they get $125 a day & all the free donuts the precinct captains bring in?
I voted at the New Field School, precinct 39. I got there about 6:15 am and the line was already out the door and halfway around the building. It seemed as if there was a lot of chaos once getting inside...a lot of the voters who registered within the past 45 days were not in the books...which included myself. I brought along the card I got from the Board of Elections and a copy of my gas bill as my driver's license has my old address on it. There seemed to be a lot of confusion as to handle these voter and finally it was decided that I was to vote via provisional ballot. However, two judges ended up arguing this (the one was an older, calm lady and the other was a rather angry, irratable man) and I ended up standing around for 10 minutes waiting for to be helped. Finally the provisional was settled and I used the electronic machine, and from there on out it all went very smooth.
Also, there was a blind gentleman voting...the judges seemed unaware of how to handle this situation as well. I had to leave and missed out on how the situation was resolved.
$125 a day isn't much for a day of 11 hours with a half hour lunch break, especially when you consider that the judges are mostly retirees.
My mother worked the election in her suburb of St. Louis in 2004 and she will never do it again. She was, after all, 71 years old and found the long day very tiring. Additionally, she was working with other women, regulars, who not only tolerated, but encouraged, abuses. She saw my name still on the rolls even though I moved out of her house to the city in 1974. She reported it, but I'm still on the rolls there, she tells me. She also saw many really outrageous abuses in that Republican suburb, such as a very domineering man entering the booth with his wife and telling her how to vote. Several episodes like that. She tried to speak up but was overruled by the other women, who were all affluent, plugged-in members of the local "establishment"- an experience we here in RP can relate to after witnessing the abuses that took place at our polls here in 2007.
She was exhausted, and demoralized, from the experience. I'm glad we can get any impartial, competent people to do this.
(CNN) — Voters in several states have receiving bogus text messages or e-mail urging supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to put off voting until Wednesday because of long lines, spurring threats of prosecution in at least two states.
The messages — a perennial election stunt — popped up Tuesday on mobile phones and computers in the battleground states of Florida, Virginia and Missouri, as well as in several other states. One falsely claimed to be a "CNN breaking news" alert.
"All Obama voters, due to long delays, are asked to wait and vote tomorrow 11/05," that message stated.
$125 a day is a hell of a lot more than you get for goddam jury duty in Crook County.
All you get there is $17.50 & you have to buy your own food & drinks!
Election judges get stuff from the precinct captains.
Was it new or old Field School that had only one judge? I have judged at old Field School many times, and we had a good crew of four. This year however, the BoE moved me to my home precinct in St. Scholastica. There were six other judges assigned there, so I blew off judging and went up to Kenosha to canvass for McCain instead.
Post a Comment