24 W. Walton St. in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood. Election Day got off to a rocky start at Ogden Elementary School, where some voters were told their entire precinct had already cast their votes.

Max Bever, public information director for the Chicago Board of Elections, said the problem only affects 12th district voters and stems from the site’s electronic poll books. Polling station officials instructed voters to go to the nearest voting center if they could not get in line or to return before the polls closed at 19:00.

An election official on the ground told WBEZ shortly before 9 a.m. that the issue had been resolved and things were now running smoothly.

James Cohoon, who lives on the Gold Coast, arrived in Ogden at 6 a.m. to vote. When Cohoon arrived, he said poll workers told residents in the 12th district that everyone in that district had already voted.

“And of course we didn’t do that,” Cohoon said.

A few hours later (without a clear explanation) Cohoon and others were able to cast their votes. Cohoon had to wait in line for almost three hours.

“Two hours and 45 minutes, that’s ridiculous. This is very sad. It almost feels like you’re losing your voice,” Cohoon said.

Cohoon managed to wait out the disturbance, but said he saw other people leaving before voting and some older voters looking for a place to sit.

“There are people who unfortunately leave because of the long wait and frustration, they lose their vote, they lose their voice,” Cohoon said.