IL Election Live Updates: Voters Reporting Issues At The Polls

Last updated at 5:30 p.m.

ILLINOIS — It's been a year marred by civil unrest, by a pandemic spreading across the globe, and by uncertainty — for voters, for small businesses and for families. Tuesday is Election Day, and even before the polls opened, nearly 3.6 million Illinois residents had already cast their ballots, whether through in-person early voting or mail-in voting.

As for when we'll know the election results — given the deluge of mail-in votes this year, the Illinois Board of Elections said it could be up to two weeks until we have unofficial vote totals.

Officials continued, "While some of these ballots will arrive in time to be processed and included in election night reporting, many are likely to arrive after Election Day and be added to unofficial totals. Illinois allows ballots that are postmarked no later than Election Day to arrive and be counted for two weeks afterward, so totals could change through Nov. 17."

• Trump vs. Biden: How Will Illinois Vote?
• Tell Patch If You See Election Shenanigans In Illinois
• Voting In Illinois: Everything You Need To Know

Meanwhile, several counties were seeing record voter turnout before the polls even close. As of noon on Tuesday, turnout hit a record 65 percent in DuPage County and nearly half of Will County's registered voters had cast their ballots before Election Day. In DuPage County, turnout was 70.61 percent in 2016 and 71.44 percent in 2012. Will County saw 68.8 percent voter turnout in 2016 and 72 percent in 2012.

Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesman Jim Allen also said voter turnout in the city could hit 75 percent, the Chicago Tribune reported. As of 11 a.m., turnout had already hit 58 percent. Turnout in Chicago was 71 percent in 2016, 75.41 percent in 2012 and 73 percent in 2008.

The polls opened at 6 a.m. Tuesday and will close at 7 p.m. With continued long lines expected, those voting in person today should know that if you're already in line when the polls close, you are entitled to vote.

At some polling places, some voters reported long wait times to vote, including lines out the door just after 6 a.m.

Problems at the polls

In McHenry County, hand sanitizer was blamed for a broken voting machine early Tuesday afternoon. McHenry County Clerk Joe Tirio said hand sanitizer used by a voter who then fed their ballot into the machine led to the roller not "getting a good grip on the paper" and the equipment failing.

In suburban Cook County, Orland Park voters said they experienced issues with voting touch screens not working and machines not accepting paper ballots. One voter wrote, "Heard the computers are down at some polling places and they are handing out paper ballots with sharpies to voters which the machines are rejecting. Bring a pen!!!"

Similar issues were reported in Homewood, where one voter said, "I used paper ballot at Calvary Ministry Center, precinct 31 at 6:30 this morning. Sharpie bled through the paper. Was told it was ok, but then there was a problem with the scanner, so I was instructed to put my ballot on a stack inside a cabinet and they'll scan it when it was working. Very suspicious."

In Plainfield, a voter had a complaint about a poll worker wearing an "I can't breathe" T-shirt and mask. The phrase, a rallying cry of the Black Lives Matter movement, were the last words of Eric Garner, an unarmed Black man who died in 2014 after being placed in a chokehold by a police officer in New York City. The Will County assistant state's attorney said the election worker's attire cannot be banned from the polling place since it "doesn't fall under the acceptable limits delineated by the Supreme Court."

In Chicago, a sprinkler malfuction flooded a polling place, forcing voters to relocate.

And in Lemont, an early voting poll worker attempted to turn away voters who were in line when the polls closed, resulting in a call to police, who made sure those still in line could vote.

However, in Palatine, voters were reporting short wait times and good experiences at the polls.

Still have questions about voting? Here's what you need to know:

Where do I vote?

Find your polling place here (you can also find this and a sample ballot on your county clerk's website)

Am I registered to vote?

You can find out here.

Can I still register to vote?

Yes. Illinois allows day-of registration. You can take advantage of grace period voter registration through Nov. 3 in person at any early voting location in your jurisdiction or at your polling place on Election Day. Again, find your polling place here

Here's a look at races and results to watch across Illinois.

Trump vs. Biden: How Will Illinois Vote?

Illinois has voted for a Democrat in the past seven elections, and this election will likely be no different. The Prairie State has also been a good predictor of presidential election outcomes: Since 1900, Illinois has selected the winning president 88.33 percent of the time.

Historically, Illinois is also pretty evenly split among the major parties, despite being thought of as a blue state. Since 1900, Illinois has voted for a Republican candidate 50 percent of the time in presidential elections, according to Ballotpedia.com. Prior to 1992, Illinois voters picked Republican presidential candidates for two decades, from 1968 to 1988. But for the past seven elections, it's been Democratic candidates that have secured the win.

In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton won Illinois with 55.8 percent of the vote compared to Trump's 38.76 percent. This time around, Illinois voters may have a soft spot for Biden, who was the vice president of President Barack Obama, a former Chicago resident who previously served as both an Illinois state senator and the U.S. senator from Illinois.

Graduated Tax Amendment, or Illinois "Fair Tax" Amendment

If approved by enough voters, the amendment would allow lawmakers to set a graduated income tax based on income rather than the flat tax that currently exists. You can find the proposed tax brackets as approved by the Illinois General Assembly here.

The constitutional amendment must pass by either 60 percent of votes cast on the ballot measure itself or a simple majority of all of those voting in the election.

U.S. Senate Race: Dick Durbin vs. 4 challengers

Durbin, highly favored to win, is looking to secure a fifth term.

The incumbent Democratic senator is facing Republican Mark Curran, Green Party candidate David F. Black, Libertarian Danny Malouf and Willie Wilson, who is running under the Willie Wilson Party banner.

1st Congressional District: Bobby Rush Vs Philanise White

Democrat Rush, who has served as representative for the First Congressional District since 1993, was the highest vote-getter by a large margin back in March.

He faces Republican Philanise White, who ran unopposed in her party's primary. White has reportedly promoted QAnon, a conspiracy theory which alleges Satan-worshipping pedophiles are plotting against President Donald Trump.

3rd Congressional District: Marie Newman vs. Mike Fricilone

In March, challenger Marie Newman beat the entrenched eight-term incumbent Dan Lipinski to earn the Democratic nomination for the 3rd Congressional District. Newman is running against Republican Will County Board Commissioner Mike Fricilone.

Fricilone has said that he originally ran to prevent the Illinois Republican Party from the further embarrassment of perennial self-avowed neo-Nazi candidate Art Jones running unopposed in the GOP primary and then landing on the Congressional ballot, as he did in 2018.

5th Congressonal District: Mike Quigley vs. Tom Hanson and Thomas Wilda

Democrat Mike Quigley has won well over 60 percent of the vote in past re-election bids. In 2018, he got more than three-quarters of the vote.

He faces two opponents — Republican Tom Hanson and Green Party candidate Thomas Wilda.

6th Congressional District: Sean Casten vs. Jeanne Ives and Bill Redpath

The fight to keep the Illinois Sixth Congressional District blue has been a heated one as incumbent Democrat Sean Casten and Republican Jeanne Ives have traded barbs in recent weeks over social media and through their campaign ads, as well as in debates.

Independent candidate Bill Redpath is also on the ballot.

8th Congressional District: Raja Krishnamoorthi vs. Preston Nelson

Incumbent Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Schaumburg, is running for his third term as the representative for the 8th Congressional District against Libertarian challenger Preston Nelson of Elgin.

Krishnaomoorthi stepped into the national spotlight when he served on the House Intelligence Committee tasked with impeaching President Donald Trump. Nelson is an inventor and entrepreneur. Although he has not previously been elected or appointed to office, Nelson has held jobs as a teacher and waiter, and he was a missionary in 2012.

9th Congressional District: Jan Schakowsky vs. Sargis Sangari

Evanston Democrat Jan Schakowsky is seeking a 12th term in the U.S. House of Representatives in a largely uncompetitive race in Illinois' 9th Congressional District. Neither Schakowsky nor her challenger, Skokie Republican Sargis Sangari, faced a competitive primary.

Schakowsky, 76, is a senior chief deputy whip and a member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. Sangari, 51, is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel who founded the nonprofit United Assyrian Appeal and a think tank called Near East Center for Strategic Engagement.

11th Congressional District: Bill Foster vs. Rick Laib

Democrat Foster has served as representative for the 11th Congressional District since 2013 and describes himself as a scientist and businessman, "a combination we need more of in Congress to deal with the challenges we are facing today and the numerous technological and economic developments our country will face in the coming decades."

A Joliet resident, Laib, calls himself a pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, pro-free market candidate. He has worked as a police sergeant with the Will County Sheriff's Office.

14th Congressional District: Lauren Underwood vs. Jim Oberweis

The race for a seat in the 14th Congressional District is shaping up to be one of the most-watched races in Illinois for the 2020 election, with entrepreneur and Republican politician Jim Oberweis aiming to unseat Democratic Rep. Lauren Underwood.

Freshman lawmaker Underwood unseated Rep. Randy Hultgren in 2018 in what many considered an upset in the traditionally conservative district. Underwood's history-making win made her the youngest Black woman ever elected to Congress.

Voters may recognize the name Jim Oberweis from Oberweis Dairy, the family company for which Oberweis serves as chairman. Oberweis currently serves in the Illinois State Senate and is the Senate Republican Whip.

16th Congressional District: Adam Kinzinger vs. Dani Brzozowski

After serving 1o years in Congress, Republican Kinzinger is seeking a sixth term. Before joining Congress, Kinzinger served in the Air Force in both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Brzozowski is a first-generation college graduate. She said her campaign is about giving the Illinois 16th District back to the people who live there.

Other races to watch

Cook County State's Attorney's Race: Kim Foxx vs. Pat O'Brien

Embattled Democratic incumbent Kim Foxx is being challenged in the 2020 Cook County State's Attorney race by Republican Judge Pat O'Brien and Libertarian candidate Brian Dennehy.

Foxx found herself under fire when her office dropped 16 felony counts of disorderly conduct against "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack on himself.

O'Brien was born and raised in Chicago's West Side Austin neighborhood. He has twice worked as a prosecutor in the Cook County State's Attorney's office, handling high profile cases

Illinois Senate, 25th District: Villa vs. Ward

Democratic State Rep. Karina Villa and Republican Jeanette Ward are competing to replace Jim Oberweis in the Illinois State Senate after he opted not to seek re-election there.

Illinois Senate, 43rd District: Connor vs. Bierly

Democrat and current State Rep. John Connor will face Republican Ben Bierly in the race for State Sen. Pat McGuire's seat. McGuire, who has served as state senator for the 43rd District since 2012, surprised some when he announced he would not be running for a third term.

Illinois Senate, 49th District: Cappel vs. McCullagh

After eight years as the 49th District State Senator, Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant is running for Will County Executive. One of the Joliet region's most well-known politicians, the Shorewood Democrat has endorsed Meg Loughran Cappel to take her seat.

Cappel is facing Shorewood Republican Tom McCullagh in the Nov. 3 election. In March, McCullagh faced no opposition in his GOP primary, while Cappel won a three-person battle, obtaining roughly 60 percent of the vote.