The Democratic National Committee’s decision to go ahead with state primaries despite the raging coronavirus epidemic – directly contravening advice from the Centers for Disease Control to avoid gatherings of 50 or more people – had progressive voters, suspecting efforts to rig the contest in favor of establishment favorite Joe Biden, up in arms on Tuesday. As residents of three of the four states initially scheduled to vote headed to the polls, those suspicions multiplied.

Illinois voters determined to brave the epidemic found closed polling places, broken machines, a dearth of volunteers, and long lines. Those few election volunteers who did show up reported waiting hours for much-needed supplies and were forced to redirect the scarce voters to other locations, where delays piled up.

Even some of the lucky few who were able to vote by mail complained they did not receive their ballots – but most didn’t even have that option.

Chicago election officials told reporters they had tried to switch to mail-in ballots, concerned about catching and spreading the coronavirus, but were stonewalled by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat who endorsed Biden the day before the primary. Some polling places were moved at the last minute, and others took place in the senior homes where they were originally scheduled – putting the buildings’ inhabitants at risk. Citywide participation reflected “some of the lowest voter turnout numbers in recent memory,” according to local media.

But that state’s voters were already crying foul the day before the primary, pointing to local TV station WCIA’s oddly specific “mistake” in broadcasting a graphic of vote results – before anyone had voted – that showed Biden neatly beating Sanders by five percentage points.

While the station insisted it was an honest mistake – a mere “graphics test” that accidentally went live – Sanders supporters pointed out the county used as a “test” had voted overwhelmingly for the Vermont senator in 2016, and highlighted the absurdity that the “random numbers” typically picked for such tests would line up so perfectly with a plausible electoral result.