Election officials show off new Chicago voting supersite ahead of Illinois Primary
Early voting in Chicago begins Thursday and officials have introduced a brand new voting supersite at State and Adams that will replace the one at Clark and Lake.
“As you can see, we still smell the new cars around here,” said Max Bever, public information director for the Chicago Board of Elections. “This is a brand new facility built just for this purpose.”
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Slightly larger than the original Clark & Lake Supersite, the newest facility houses 80 voting machines, slightly more than its predecessor.
The reason for the move, Max Bever of the Chicago Board of Elections, says their lease simply ended with the Secretary of State and they were looking for more space for the public.
“On the other hand, when it comes to our voting machines, there are no major changes,” Bever said. “We’re really operating business as usual. We have the same touchscreen machines. We have the same ballot scanners. There’s no new machines being tested, but what you’re seeing today is testing our proven machines and going through the different dozens of laws that we have to follow before Election Day.”
The Supersite at State & Adams as well as 69 W. Washington St. open this Thursday to voters ahead of the March 17 primary election.
The other polling stations in the 50 neighborhoods open on March 2.
In the suburbs, early voting began Tuesday in DuPage County, while Kendall, Kane, McHenry, Will and Lake counties already began last week.
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Back in Chicago, staff complete testing of pre-election equipment, check each machine and test ballots.
Once these tests are completed, the machines are then locked and sealed for their protection.
“So every touchscreen voting machine has many layers of testing and verification before it goes into live voting mode. So that’s what you see happening today,” Bever said.
This Supersite location opens at 9 a.m. Thursday. Early voting opens in Cook County next Wednesday, February 18.
