Good turnout at Marina City despite polling place problems

27th Precinct favored Giannoulias, Quinn

(Above) In the small lobby of their condo building, voters in the 42nd Ward’s tiny 27th Precinct wait in line on Tuesday.

3-Nov-10 – 338 residents of Marina City endured long lines and short tempers on Tuesday to vote in the General Election. With 560 active registered voters, it represented a 60 percent turnout.

Last year, the tiny 27th Precinct, consisting solely of Marina City, achieved a 36 percent voter turnout, but an 80 percent turnout in 2008.

Approximately 30 people voted early.

Voters at Marina City supported the constitutional amendment to allow for a recall of the office of Governor, with 62 percent voting “yes” to the amendment.

Although Mark Steven Kirk won the six-year term to the U.S. Senate, Alexander Giannoulias was favored in the 27th Precinct, getting 59 percent of the vote to Kirk’s 34 percent.

For governor, voters in the precinct preferred incumbent Pat Quinn, who received 57 percent of the vote while Bill Brady got 33 percent.

Voters herded into small lobby

The precinct lost a large conference room as a polling place when the condo association at Marina City decided not to renew its lease of the room and instead build a meeting room on the 20th floor of the east tower. However, instead of utilizing the new meeting room, David Gantt, the residential property manager at Marina City, decided to move the polling place to the small lobby of the west tower.

Although larger than the lobby in the east tower, the west tower lobby normally fits only a security station and a modest reception area.

Despite protests by election judges, Gantt, say the judges, would not budge and would not give a reason why the larger meeting room could not be used. A request by one judge to at least send a memo to residents, informing them of the new location, was refused, with the property manager responding, “It’s going to be pretty obvious that the polling location has moved since this one is in the lobby.”

Some voters say, however, they were told by the residential management office at Marina City that the polling place was in the new meeting room on the 20th floor of the east tower, even though judges say they were being told for weeks by Gantt that the meeting room was not an option.

Over 13 hours on Tuesday, judges say they heard more than 100 complaints. Many voters used flashlights to read their ballots, as electrical outlets and light in the lobby were in short supply. Long lines formed throughout the day, even at normally off-peak times, due to a longer than normal ballot and fewer voting booths fitting into the available space.

At one point, an election investigator – an off-duty Chicago police officer – arrived to notify judges of complaints from voters.

The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners did not help ease the confusion when it released data to voters and candidates showing the 27th Precinct polling place still in the larger lower-level conference room.

Some voters say they were told the polling place was in the east tower at Marina City, and Adam Gypalo, Director of Constituent Services and Infrastructure for 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly, says they were initially told the 27th Precinct polling place would be in the east tower.

There was no support for the smaller west tower lobby as a polling place on Marina Watchdog, the blog for residents.

“I voted this morning and found the lobby very uncomfortable,” wrote one blogger. “The main reason for me was the lighting. I found it very difficult to see, as there were no overhead lights. I was in the corner on the side of the security desk but the whole lobby is not very brightly lit so I’m sure I’m not the only person that had difficulty.”

Another resident complained about not getting a memo about where to vote. “We were sent notices about a big wind, and not to feed birds on our balconies, but why no notices about something as important as Election Day since there was so much misinformation?”

 See election results from the 27th Precinct (Adobe Acrobat Document)

(Below) End of the road for ballots. Three and a half hours after polls closed on Tuesday, election judges from precincts in Chicago’s 42nd and 43rd Wards converge on Walter Payton College Prep to turn in ballots and supporting documents. (Click on image to view larger version.)

Steven Dahlman, the writer of this news story, is also an election judge in the 27th Precinct.