On Tuesday, nearly 50 housing facilities for low-income seniors were used as polling locations across Chicago.

This took place despite Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warnings that “if you are an older person, stay home and away from other people.” Seniors are at high risk of developing complications from the coronavirus.

“The decision to hold the elections at all today is a public health risk for everyone,” said Kelly Viselman, director of Jane Addams Senior Caucus. “The specific decision to allow polling places to be open at CHA senior buildings puts low-income seniors, an already high-risk population, at even greater risk. That’s extremely concerning.” 

Chaos was the name of the game at hundreds of polling locations, where voters faced two-hour waits and crowds in excess of 150 people. The governor had also issued a ban on gatherings in excess of ten people.

Fifty polling locations canceled “last minute,” while hundreds of others were relocated, according to election authorities. Voting materials were never delivered to some locations, say poll workers. 

Seniors often volunteer as election judges, a position that faced a critical shortage Tuesday as dozens of election judges dropped out.

While Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine used emergency authority to postpone voting, Illinois’ Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s decision to go forward went against advice from Chicago’s election officials who privately urged the governor to call off in-person voting.

“This was a snowball we could all see coming down the hill,” said Jim Allen, a spokesperson for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, Tuesday morning.

A spokesperson for Pritzker called this “a lie.”