Illinois elections board calls viral voting machine allegation ‘hoax’
[October 24, 2026]
By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – A viral social media video alleging that voting
equipment in suburban Cook County warns voters against selecting
Republican judicial candidates has drawn a sharp rebuke from Illinois
election officials, who say the claim is false.
Mary Bauer posted on social media and said she encountered a
notification while early voting in Streamwood, a suburb in Cook County,
after selecting Republican judicial candidates on her ballot for the
2026 election cycle.
“For reference, I live in Illinois, and I’m actually in the county where
Chicago is,” she said in the video. “It’s called Cook County, but I’m in
the suburbs in Streamwood.”
Bauer described herself as “very conservative” and said she voted
despite believing her vote might not make a difference in a state as
politically liberal as Illinois.
“I still find it to be my civic duty, so I still went out and I voted,”
she said.
While selecting judicial candidates, she said a message appeared on the
screen stating, “People are not typically choosing this person!”
Bauer said she selected three Republican judicial candidates and that
the message subsequently disappeared.
“So why is my ballot telling me that who I’m picking isn’t the more
popular choice? I have a problem with that,” she said.
However, the Illinois State Board of Elections rejected the allegation.
“No voting machine in Illinois could display that message,” board
spokesperson Matt Dietrich told The Center Square. “That post is a
hoax.”
Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon also issued a public statement
addressing the video, calling its claims false and misleading.
“The facts: voting equipment does not tell voters which candidates are
more popular, nor does it discourage voters from selecting any
particular candidate,” Gordon said.
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According to Gordon, voting equipment may display a notification
when a voter leaves a contest blank or does not make all available
selections, a situation known as an undervote.
“This standard ballot-review feature gives voters an opportunity to
review their ballot and confirm that it reflects their intentions
before casting it,” Gordon said.
She emphasized that voters remain free to select their preferred
candidates or leave individual contests blank.
“The choice is always yours,” Gordon said.
The clerk’s office said the ballot-review feature is intended to
help voters identify incomplete selections before casting their
ballots, not to indicate which candidates are more popular or
discourage votes for particular candidates.
“The Cook County Clerk’s Office takes election integrity seriously,”
Gordon said. “Claims that voting equipment attempts to influence
voters are false and misleading.”
Frank Herrera, communications director for the Cook County Clerk’s
Office, called the viral video’s claims “patently false,” saying
voting equipment does not indicate candidate popularity. He said
notifications appear when ballots have incomplete selections,
allowing voters to review their choices before casting their
ballots.
The video circulated on social media as early voting continued ahead
of the Nov. 3 General Election, prompting questions about the
equipment used in suburban Cook County and the integrity of the
voting process.
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