Digital age begins for City Council, as aldermen begin casting votes electronically
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago City Council entered the 21st century on Wednesday, as for the first time ever aldermen cast their votes electronically, instead of by voice vote.
The new electronic voting system was part of a modernization initiative led by City Clerk Anna Valencia. Each alderman now has an iPad at their desk in the City Council chamber to use to cast votes, and large video screens have been installed on the walls of the chamber to display the vote tally in real time.
Aldermen also will use the electronic voting system to register their attendance for the roll call at the beginning of each City Council meeting.
"This is a historic day for Chicago's City Council," Valencia said in a statement after the meeting. "We are proud to lead the way as the largest U.S. city to implement electronic voting. EVoting will not only benefit the members themselves; it will also give Chicagoans a clearer understanding of how their government works."
There were a few hiccups with the system on the first day, as some aldermen needed help getting their iPods connected to the City Hall network, or with going through the steps to cast and verify their votes.
It took about two minutes for all the aldermen to push the button for the meeting's first vote, but officials expect that process to get streamlined as aldermen become more familiar with the system.
Electronic voting not only should save time, but cut down on confusion, with Valencia or members of her staff no longer needing to strain to hear an alderman's vote over the din of the Council Chamber.
For decades, the Council has been relying on voice votes, which could often take five minutes or longer to complete, as the clerk reads through all 50 aldermen's names.
By contrast, the Illinois House and Illinois Senate have used electronic voting for decades, and both have large video screens in their chamber displaying votes in real time.
While electronic voting will now be in place for meetings of the full Chicago City Council, aldermen will still have the option of requesting a voice vote. Committee meetings also will still rely on voice votes, as committees continue to meet remotely.
Meantime, Valencia is working on other modernization efforts, including enabling aldermen to submit and co-sponsor proposed legislation digitally, to move committees to a paperless system, to improve language and ADA access for meetings, and to enable real-time electronic voting for all committees.