Since the November 2000 presidential election, the Cook County Clerk’s office has sought to reform the electoral process and ensure the protection of voter rights in future elections.
These reforms will increase the accuracy of the vote count and improve the polling place environment in the March 19 primary election. Still, voters must be informed about these new procedures so they are prepared before heading to their polling places.
Cook County voters will still cast punch card ballots and will not notice any differences until after they have made their selections. Here are three steps voters should keep in mind after they vote:
Voters will feed their own ballots into a ballot counter. Voters will no longer hand their ballots to an election judge.
The ballot counter will instantly screen the ballot for errors. This error-detection technology will detect any undervotes (if no vote is recorded for any candidate in a race) or any overvotes (if a voter selects too many candidates in a race).
If an error is detected, voters will have a “second chance” to make corrections, or they can have the ballot counted “as is” without making changes.
New user-friendly signs will detail the new procedures and a Voter Bill of Rights will be posted in each polling place to alert voters of their rights.
Before voting, election judges will demonstrate how to make selections correctly and check for loose chads. Voters can also make a “practice punch” and ask judges to explain each step in further detail.
A few days before the election, each voting household in Cook County will receive a red-colored “Voter Instruction Guide.” All voters should read it carefully and are allowed to bring it into the voting booth with them on Election Day.
These efforts to educate and empower voters before Election Day will ultimately reduce polling place confusion and minimize errors. If you have any questions, call the county election department at (312) 603-0906.
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