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Election officials across Illinois boost security

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Illinois

In Illinois, concrete threats about violence in polling places haven’t materialized, said Matt Dietrich, spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections.

“But we’re aware of what the atmosphere is,” Dietrich said, later adding: “We’re aware that we’re going to have a lot more poll watchers in polling places on Tuesday. And we know that a lot of those poll watchers are there because they have some degree of skepticism based on the allegations that came out after 2020, which were completely unfounded.”

Poll watchers are an integral part of the process by ensuring it’s proceeding as it’s supposed to, said Kevin Cullather, a spokesman for the Lake County clerk’s office.

* ABC 7…

Panic buttons are now in place in Boone County, just east of Rockford. County officials ordered them for the 2020 election, and have increased training for their potential use this year.

“We have a society that is very on edge with these elections,” Boone County Clerk and Recorder Julie Bliss told the I-Team. “We have a few located in strategic places about the office, just as a precautionary thing. You know, the, the rhetoric is, nationally, has had some consequences and, and certainly some implications that there could be, even though we don’t have any direct threats that we are aware of right now. But it’s always best to be prepared. So, these panic buttons, all we have to do if we do have an issue, we push a button and then it notifies our security company. If we don’t respond when they contact us back, they notify the authorities.”

Because of concerns of voter intimidation nationwide, the Justice Department is now planning on monitoring polls in 24 states to protect the rights of voters, including just over the border in Racine, Wisconsin.

* CBS Chicago…

Five small panic buttons that fit in the palm of your hand are hidden around the Boone County Clerk’s Offices in Belvidere.

“It’s just best for everybody to be vigilant,” said County Clerk Julie Bliss.

She told CBS 2 there haven’t been any security threats. The buttons and security locks are in place, just in case.

She said nine of her election judges dropped out of working on Election Day, partially out of fear of the tense national political environment. […]

At the state level, Illinois election leaders have said there are no known, specific security threats so far.

* The Tribune…

In Murphysboro in far southern Illinois, Jackson County Clerk and Recorder Frank L. Bryd, a Democrat, said he’s been insulted and received aggressive comments. Some residents have even made derogatory comments to his family members, he said.

In a county where Biden finished ahead of Trump by just 1%, Byrd said, the local Republican Party has organized requests for records from his office that he thinks are needlessly time-consuming, and that local GOP leaders have second-guessed mail-in ballot efforts by pressuring him to pull names from the voter rolls. […]

Jason Svanda, the chairman of the Jackson County GOP, said the records requests to Byrd’s office are legal and that the party’s efforts on the voter rolls is to ensure that elections are fair. […]

Still, Byrd said a pastor friend of his recently sat Byrd down and told him to be careful, adding that he has noticed some have become outraged since he installed ballot drop boxes at a police station and a courthouse that are monitored by video cameras.

* WLS…

Kane County spent nearly $60,000 on high tech equipment, including a massive machine that is part of the ballot validation process, this election cycle to ensure elections run smoothly and with integrity.

“We have tight control here,” said Kane County Clerk John Cunningham. “Nobody can intentionally interfere with the balance nor has that happened in any of our elections.”

Cameras capture all of the security protocols along the way.

“We’re following the law and we’re we put in all the safeguards we can. We try to be as transparent as we can,” Cunningham said. “We invite people come in and poll watch. We’re getting more poll watchers now than we’ve ever had before.”

* WICS…

Election day is Tuesday and Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray says the county is ready.

Gray said although the safety and security of voters and poll workers are always a concern, he doesn’t anticipate any problems this year.

Sangamon County Clerk Don Gray said the county is prepared for any situation that may arise on Election Day. He said although he doesn’t anticipate any problems, they are still prepared.

[From Rich: I’m getting reports of Bailey poll watchers on Springfield’s East Side “with cameras and clipboards trying to talk to voters and challenging voters.”]

posted by Isabel Miller
Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 12:04 pm

Comments

- reports of Bailey poll watchers on Springfield’s East Side “with cameras and clipboards trying to talk to voters and challenging voters. -

I was wondering when reports of these idiots would start popping up.

Comment by Excitable Boy Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 12:09 pm
Thank Jebus no gun play.

“The day ain’t over yet.”
- Curly

Comment by SouthSideGT Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 12:19 pm
Just left Union Baptist in Springfield. Can confirm reports of the Bailey poll watchers. Attorneys are on the scene.

Comment by FIREDup! Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 12:22 pm
Thanks for the updates from Isabel and Rich, and for their coverage the whole cycle. And I hope the commenters can bring their normal insight today, especially to this storyline (but crossing my fingers that there’s not a lot to talk about here).

Comment by Torco Sign Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 12:23 pm
* * * Poll watchers are an integral part of the process by ensuring it’s proceeding as it’s supposed to* * *

I’ve been poll watching since my teenage years. The recent degrading of poll watchers is quite frankly appalling to me. They are there to observe and when necessary, ask questions of the judges. Most of the time I found myself doing crossword puzzles.

Comment by Louis G Atsaves Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 12:30 pm
-The recent degrading of poll watchers is quite frankly appalling to me. They are there to observe and when necessary, ask questions of the judges.-

That’s what they are supposed to be there for. Seems that some new to the job are looking to cross that line.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 12:40 pm
==Most of the time I found myself doing crossword puzzles.

LOL–yeah, it’s not exciting. It’s important, but not exciting. If you are making it exciting you are doing it wrong.

Comment by ArchPundit Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 12:54 pm
Man, but man, would I love some “poll watcher” to question me going to/walking away from a polling place.

Their day would be ruined.

Comment by Flying Elvis'-Utah Chapter Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 1:02 pm
==Bailey poll watchers==
As long as they don’t start passing out free Mountain Dep to the voters waiting in line I guess they can’t be stopped. Just wait until they hand out a free Dep from Darren, though, and they get removed for electioneering.

Comment by MoralMinority Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 1:29 pm
Be prepared not to panic.

Comment by Dotnonymous Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 1:30 pm
To: Dotnonymous at 1:30pm
But I wanted to panic so badly (banned punctuation).
I voted by mail to avoid some of the nonsense. Maybe I’ll cruise by a polling place later and see how it’s going.

Comment by thisjustinagain Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 1:55 pm
When I showed up to poll watch today the election judges were initially very wary of me and one semi-jokingly said they didn’t want me there. I’ve been doing this for years and always clarify that I’m only there to make sure no one’s inappropriately turned away. I normally love interacting with people and thanking them for voting but this morning was surprisingly tense.

Comment by Sunahinestate Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 1:55 pm
Hearing lots of reports of Bailey’s poll watchers causing issues in Kendall County. Standing over judges, standing too close to judges, interacting with voters, generally being disruptive.

Comment by Illinois Patriot Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 3:05 pm
I saw pictures taken outside Jackson County polling sites, where large stickers were placed on the “campaign free zone” signs that read Frank Bryd County Clerk. He is on the ballot. Not sure it’s illegal, but sure seems unethical. A friend made a complaint to his office. He refused to remove the signs. I assume the signs were purchased with taxpayer dollars.

Comment by Southern Belle Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 3:38 pm
===Byrd said a pastor friend of his recently sat Byrd down and told him to be careful, adding that he has noticed some have become outraged===

The question here is was the pastor issuing the threat themselves, or just sharing threats that they had failed to report to the authorities themselves. Either way the pastor has some culpability and needs to talk to the state police.

Comment by Candy Dogood Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 4:19 pm
As to the poll watchers challenging voters on Springfield’s east side - If they challenged me, I would waste no time telling them to get out of my face. I’ve been voting since 1976 and know what exactly what I’m doing.

Comment by Manchester Tuesday, Nov 8, 22 @ 6:56 pm