Double-dipping at polls? Officials say not really
Posted by Laurie Cohen at 8:35 p.m.
Considering Chicago’s reputation for hanky-panky at the polls, does the recent surge in early voting present new opportunities for election fraud?
Officials acknowledge that a small number of voters might have tried—and in a few cases succeeded—to vote again on Election Day.
But they contend such abuses are rare because offenders are easily caught and face severe penalties.
“People don’t try to vote twice,” said James Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners. “Most everyone is really satisfied to have one bite.”
In Chicago, more than 260,000 people went to the polls in the three weeks before November 4, about one quarter of the total turnout and more than triple the number during the primary. This was the first presidential general election in Illinois in which people could vote early.
Early voters may not vote again. To make sure they don’t, election judges in each precinct get lists of early voters. The judges are supposed to check these lists before allowing voters to cast their ballots.
If somebody does vote twice, election officials would find out when they update voter records after ballots are counted, Allen said. Any cases of double voting would be referred to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office for prosecution as Class 3 felonies, which carry prison terms of up to five years.
In this year’s primary, three people voted early and then voted again on February 5, according to Allen. The cases were referred to the state’s attorney, he said. The status of those cases couldn’t immediately be determined.
Election officials might be able to end the abuse entirely by computerizing the voter records used by election judges. But Allen said that would be a costly remedy for what seems to be a minor problem. And voters would be out of luck if there’s a power outage, he added.