Politics

Chicago US Attorney Launching Hotline to Report Fraud, Voter Intimidation Ahead of Next Week’s Election

Chicago’s top federal prosecutor said his office is putting a plan in place to protect voters from “intimidation or interference” as they head to the polls ahead of next Tuesday’s Election Day.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros on Tuesday said voters can report possible violations including fraud and voter intimidation directly to his office amid concerns over the security of voters and the elections themselves.

“Voters must be able to cast their ballots without interference or intimidation, and to have their vote counted in a free, fair, and honest election,” Boutros said in a statement.

Boutos said his office will be maintaining a hotline — available at 312-469-6157 — where witnesses can report allegations of unlawful voting activity. He said assistant U.S. attorneys and other staff will monitor that line and “take appropriate action.”

Boutros’ announcement comes as Democrats and outside watchdogs are planning a massive presence at the polls on Election Day driven by concerns that President Donald Trump will further leverage the vast resources of the federal government to interfere with a midterm that could hobble his final two years in office.

They won’t be the only ones there. A sprawling election protection effort on the left that is expected to deploy tens of thousands of monitors will be met by the largest-ever monitoring program by the Justice Department and still more observers from Republican-aligned groups. The result could be unlike anything seen at the polls in modern times.

The effort among Democratic and nonprofit groups includes training volunteers to stand watch outside polling places and report activities they consider concerning. The network includes traditional government watchdogs such as Common Cause and the American Civil Liberties Union plus a flood of volunteers assembled by state Democratic parties, congressional leaders, national activist groups and organizations focused on protecting democracy.

That includes in Illinois where a coalition of voting rights organizations is preparing hundreds of trained poll monitors and poll watchers to observe polling places and report suspected voting-rights violations.

That group — which includes the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, Chicago Votes, Common Cause Illinois, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the League of Women Voters of Illinois, the League of Women Voters of Chicago and others — said its volunteers will be stationed in and around polling locations to identify and report suspected cases of voter intimidation, electioneering or election interference.

“We don’t want any voter to stay home on election day out of fear for their safety or concern that their right to vote will be challenged,” Becky Simon, president of the League of Women Voters of Illinois, said in a statement. “What’s important on November 3 is that all eligible voters go out and vote.” 

The Democratic National Committee’s Association of State Democratic Committees created a first-of-its-kind cybersecurity unit staffed by former CIA and FBI officials to monitor and report online misinformation, including artificial intelligence deepfakes, said Jane Kleeb, vice chair of the DNC.

That’s as Democratic mayors, attorneys general and secretaries of state host tabletop exercises simulating worst-case scenarios, such as a surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials at voting locations or the seizure of ballots and voting equipment. While Trump continues to make baseless allegations of cheating in the election, administration and military officials have said they have no plans to deploy immigration agents or troops to polling sites.

“The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office will work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process and ensure that the November General Election is unmarred by fraud, error, or suspicion,” said Boutros, who was appointed to his position by the Trump administration.

Chicago and Cook County leaders for months have been urging residents to make a plan before heading to the polls.

Early voting in Chicago expanded to all 50 wards beginning Oct. 19. No matter where you live in the city, Chicago voters can cast their ballot early at any early voting site. On Election Day, voters can vote at any of the 50 ward early voting sites, the downtown supersite or at their assigned precinct polling place.

“We also know that election safety and security are on everyone’s mind,” Chicago Board of Election Commissioners chairwoman Marisel Hernandez said earlier this month. “We are prepared and committed to your protection no matter how you choose to vote.”

WTTW's Eunice Alpasan and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

---