Chicago election board denies machine tampering claims as federal monitors arrive

The U.S. Department of Justice will dispatch election monitors to all 50 states before Tuesday's general election. In Chicago, local officials are addressing circulating claims about electronic voting machines. The Board of Elections stated that it has not received any reports of votes being switched between parties on the city's devices.

Social media posts have alleged that electronic machines altered ballots from Republican to Democrat or the reverse. Chicago election leaders rejected these claims. They noted that the voting equipment is not connected to the internet. This configuration prevents remote hacking through a network connection.

The city operates 1,200 voting machines. Technical staff perform daily accuracy tests on every unit. They also run diagnostics with the vendor, Liberty Vote. The board tracks the movement of the equipment to maintain a record of its location and handling.

Julie Metea, a representative for the Chicago Board of Elections, described the physical safeguards in place. "The access to voting equipment here is restricted," Metea said. "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."

Federal and state election authorities require additional audits of the voting process. These reviews provide an extra layer of oversight for the board. Polls in Chicago will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on November 3. Voters who are in line by the closing time may still cast their ballots.

The department will use the monitoring mission to observe the election administration across the country. Chicago officials point to the daily testing and physical security protocols as the primary defense against technical errors. The board directs voters to chicagoelections.gov for specific location details.