CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Republicans in DuPage County are complaining that Democrats are getting an edge in touchscreen voting machines, but election officials dispute that.
Republicans said Democrats are getting an advantage on touchscreen voting machines, because the first line that will be highlighted in red for each race is for Democrats. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider said flyers will be given to voters warning them of what the GOP says is “fraud”.
"Speaker (Michael) Madigan and the Democrats will stop at nothing to enact higher taxes on our middle class families and retirees," he said in a statement issued by the state party. "Illinois GOP volunteers will be handing out fliers in DuPage County to voters alerting them of this clear abuse of our election system."
A video showing the touch-screen operation was posted on the Illinois Republican Party's YouTube page Saturday under the title "DuPage Voter Fraud Alert!"
But, a DuPage County election official told the Daily Herald it’s no such thing - that the same system was in place for the primary election and no one complained. The official said the text-highlighting and audio feature is necessary for the county's 15-year-old voting system to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and appears for every candidate as voters move down the ballot.
Democratic candidates are highlighted first, because they appear first on the ballot in each race as a result of a state lottery over the summer.