Chicago Precinct Runs Out of Ballots, Machine Down Midday

Voters at a Chicago polling site on Rockwell Street in Logan Square hit a wall Tuesday: one precinct ran out of paper ballots, and its electronic machine was down, ABC7 Chicago's I-Team reported around midday.

Three precincts in the First Ward vote at the site. Long lines formed outside early and continued inside, according to ABC7's Mark Rivera.

Here is how the reporting broke down: in Precinct 4, voters could only vote electronically. In Precinct 5, voters could not vote at all, because the site was out of ballots and the electronic machine was not working. Two technicians were sent to fix it, and it had not been repaired as of the report. Precinct 6 was running normally.

The League of Women Voters alerted the Chicago Board of Elections, which told ABC7 more ballots were on the way.

The Board said it was "monitoring the locations" and that "some did have issues opening." As far as it knew, it said, no voters had been turned away or prevented from voting, either at the site once issues were resolved or at a nearby Vote Center. It said it would check the Rockwell locations specifically.

Our take: A precinct with no ballots and a dead machine at lunchtime on a midterm Election Day is a basic competence failure, and the "we're not aware of anyone turned away" line is exactly the claim voters and observers should keep testing. This is one reported site, not evidence of anything larger, and we're not claiming otherwise. But it's one more entry on a day already marked by scanner trouble in Westchester County and a glitch in Broward, and election officials owe the public clear answers on how many people left without voting.

Chicago polls close at 7 p.m. local time.