* Click here for background if you need it. WCIA…

Less than 24 hours away from Election Day, Champaign County is ramping up security to ensure everything runs smoothly.

For the first time, Champaign County Clerk Aarons Ammons has brought in third party security to patrol the polls. […]

“We’ve seen more aggression and violence in the polling locations, so we wanted to take some preventative measures to help address this,” Ammons said.

Since Saturday, three unarmed, plain clothes security personnel have been monitoring the county’s early voting locations.

FYI: News Gazette: System failures that led to inoperable voting machines at polling places throughout Champaign County Tuesday morning have been resolved, Clerk Aaron Ammons said shortly after 8 a.m.

* CBS Chicago…

A man has been charged with punching an election judge at a polling place in Orland Park, after refusing to wait in line for early voting on Sunday morning.

The 74-year-old longtime election judge said in his nearly 40 years volunteering at the polls, there have been a few arguments—but nothing like the violence he faced Sunday. […]

The longtime election judge asked CBS News Chicago to conceal his identity, but said over the phone that it all started Sunday when Schmidt skipped a line of about 100 people waiting to vote at the early voting location at the Orland Park Township Office, at 14807 Ravinia Ave. […]

“I got in his way to stop him,” the election judge said. “We exchanged some words, and then he hit me in the left side of my face.”

Schmidt also struck an 81-year-old woman and knocked her off balance, police and Cook County prosecutors said.

The election judge said another poll worker and a voter stepped in and wrestled Schmidt down until police came. Police said Schmidt resisted officers as well.

“Nothing political. He didn’t sound like he was from either party,” the election judge said. “He just sounded like he wanted to have his way, and that we were stopping him from having his way.”

* ABC Chicago…

Full statement from the Cook County Clerk’s Office:

Incidents of this nature are extremely rare in suburban Cook County, and this was an isolated event. No similar issues have been reported at any of our other 53 Early Voting locations.

Our election judges are trained to call 911 in the event of any security emergency, and we thank the Orland Park Police Department for their prompt response.

The safety of our poll workers is a top priority for the Cook County Clerk’s Office, and we go to great lengths to provide a safe and secure environment for election workers as well as voters at all of our polling locations.

* Cook County Sheriff…

Sheriff’s Police will be at polling sites across suburban Cook County on Tuesday to ensure the safety of poll workers and of residents exercising their right to vote, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced today.

Sheriff’s Police has been working closely with the Cook County Clerk’s Office, which is the election authority for suburban Cook County, on polling place security during this election cycle and will continue to do so on Election Day.

“We want the citizens of Cook County to feel safe and secure while exercising their right to vote,” Sheriff Dart said.

Sheriff’s Police will also investigate reports of prohibited conduct at polling locations, such as electioneering, preventing people from voting and failing to comply with an election judge’s order.

* 25News Now…

Peoria County Election Commission’s Executive Director, Elizabeth Gannon, said it is partnering with the emergency management team and the sheriff to ensure the safety of election judges and voters for the big day on Tuesday.

There won’t be security guards or police officers at the polling locations, but more deputies will be nearby.

Gannon also says they started a new training program for election judges this year.

“For the first time, we’ve added de-escalation training to our online training for our election judges,” said Gannon. “They have the information, hopefully, they don’t have to put it into place, but we do go over these things in training now.”

Tazewell County will also have two additional deputies nearby.

* Peoria Journal Star…

Election officials in Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford counties told the Journal Star about how they are working to practice transparency and ensure election integrity ahead of the Nov. 5 Presidential election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.

Elizabeth Gannon, Executive Director of the Peoria County Election Commission, said one significant aspect of election security is sealing and tracking voting equipment.

Before voting begins, election commissions must run a public test to ensure voting equipment and tabulating software are running accurately. The test is open to the public and simulates election day by creating a test deck that gives every contest and candidate a vote. If the test comes back with mistakes, the election commission knows it was simply human error. […]

County clerks and local election authorities have bolstered efforts to be transparent and open to questions and conversations with the public. Tazewell County clerk John Ackerman says this looks like inviting the public to take tours of the building to see how election equipment operates or to have one-on-one discussions with election officials. […]

Peoria County’s Gannon urges voters to make the election authority their top source for information rather than social media or word of mouth.

* Meanwhile, KWQC…

The Rock Island County Clerk’s Office asked Republican candidate Joe McGraw to keep at least 100 feet from where voters were lining up. […]

The county clerk’s office confirmed it asked McGraw to stay 100 feet from the entrance of the county courthouse.

McGraw’s campaign said he was always 100 feet away from the polling location.

A viewer had called KWQC-TV6 to say McGraw was approaching voters in line Monday evening. […]

KWQC has a piece of campaign material voters said he was passing out.

* More…

* DNYUZ | On Telegram, a Violent Preview of What May Unfold on Election Day and After: Groups backing former President Donald J. Trump recently sent messages to organize poll watchers to be ready to dispute votes in Democratic areas. Some posted images of armed men standing up for their rights to recruit for their cause. Others spread conspiracy theories that anything less than a Trump victory on Tuesday would be a miscarriage of justice worthy of revolt.

* WSJ | The Proud Boys Have Regrouped and Are Signaling Election Plans: While it isn’t clear what the far-right group is planning or how coordinated its plans are, many chapters are amplifying election-cheating claims made by Trump or his allies and discussing potential responses, according to a review by The Wall Street Journal of dozens of accounts on Telegram, the messaging app, and Trump’s Truth Social platform. Chapters have gathered across state lines, talked about watching polls and have been boasting about attending Trump rallies to protect the former president.

* The Guardian | Republican mega-donors asked their employees who they will vote for in survey: The Republican mega-donors Dick and Liz Uihlein, who are the third largest donors in this year’s US presidential election, have sought information about who employees at their company Uline will be voting for in Tuesday’s ballot. A screenshot seen by the Guardian shows how employees at the private Wisconsin paper and office products distributor were asked to take part in what was called an anonymous survey to track who the employees were voting for on 5 November.

* Reuters | US states worried about election unrest take security precautions: A defense official said on Monday that Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Iowa, Illinois, North Carolina, New Mexico, Oregon, Wisconsin and Washington state have current National Guard missions while Washington DC, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia have troops on standby.

* Press Release | U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago Announces Telephone Hotline To Report Voting Rights Complaints on Election Day: Assistant U.S. Attorneys and other staff will monitor the hotline. The hotline numbers, staffed on Election Day only, are (312) 469-6157 and (312) 469-6158. The Office’s Election Day Program will be supervised by Assistant U.S. Attorney Megan DeMarco.