Chicago Board of Elections confirms 1,200 machines are offline and sealed ahead of Nov. 3 vote

The Chicago Board of Elections moved to clarify the status of its voting infrastructure as Election Day nears on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Officials addressed circulating claims that electronic machines might alter votes between parties. The board stated it has not received reports of such occurrences in the city.

Social media posts suggested that ballots were switched from Republican to Democrat or the reverse on electronic devices. Chicago election leaders rejected the premise of remote interference. They emphasized that the voting machines are not connected to the internet. This disconnect eliminates the possibility of hacking through a network connection.

The city operates 1,200 voting machines. Technical staff test every unit daily to verify accuracy. These tests are conducted alongside diagnostics with the vendor, Liberty Vote. The board tracks the physical movement of the equipment to maintain a chain of custody. Officials monitor who handles the machines and where they are located at all times.

Julie Metea, a representative for the Chicago Board of Elections, detailed the physical safeguards in place. She noted that access to the equipment is restricted to specific personnel. The machines are stored in locked areas. They are also sealed in containers under video surveillance. Metea stated, "The access to voting equipment here is restricted. It's stored in locked areas and sealed in containers with video surveillance. And we do document the movement and the control of the voting equipment so we know who accesses it, we know it's sealed, we know the location it's at through its entire life."

Additional oversight comes from audits required by federal and state election authorities. These reviews provide a secondary check on the integrity of the voting process. The U.S. Department of Justice is also preparing to send election monitors to all 50 states as part of its national security review.

Polls in Chicago will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters who are already in line by the 7 p.m. deadline will still be permitted to cast their ballots. The city directs residents to chicagoelections.gov for specific location details and procedural information.