Election ballot scanner issues continue in Westchester County as officials assure votes will be counted
Voting machines at polling sites in Westchester County, New York, are not accepting election ballots Tuesday, officials said.
Up to 300 machines started experiencing problems when the polls opened at 6 a.m.
County Executive Ken Jenkins said there was a printer problem with the ballots that made them unreadable to the machines, but the state Board of Elections pushed back on that explanation.
The BOE said there was a programming change for Election Day voting in one municipality.
"However, Election Day machines elsewhere in the county continued to use the original programming, and therefore could not recognize and accept the ballots being used for Election Day," the BOE said in a statement.
"The immediate priority is to restore scanning capability to at least one voting machine at every polling location, with additional machines being brought online as the day progresses," the BOE said.
Voting continues in the meantime under emergency ballot procedures, in which completed ballots are "securely maintained under bipartisan oversight and will be scanned and counted in accordance with established procedures."
The BOE said the impacted scanners rejected the ballots rather than incorrectly tabulating them.
"Every valid vote will be counted," the BOE said.
There is one scanner at every polling place used for voters who are impaired, which is now being reprogrammed to read and count the ballots, Jenkins said.
"This situation is completely unacceptable. My job is to look over the voters of Westchester County and you're furious
and I am as well," Jenkins said, adding, "At this time, people should understand that their vote will be counted. Period. The end. So if you are standing in a line or were planning to go to your polling place, continue to do so."
The polls will still close at 9 p.m., and there is no need to keep them open any later, Jenkins said. However, because the ballots are now considered emergency ballots, he said they cannot be counted until after 9 p.m.
In the morning, voters were instructed to stay in line and fill out a paper ballot that is placed in orange emergency ballot bags to be counted later.
Voters in lower Westchester said the process was seamless despite the issues.
"It was just typical. It was normal. I mean, how they count them. I mean, we have all these backups. We've known that over the years," Tarrytown resident Todd McConchie said.
"The instructions were clear. I just followed the instructions, get authenticated, vote and place it in a sealed bag," Elmsford resident Cathy Ronan said.
The board said there has been no disruption to voting.
"Long-established emergency ballot procedures have been implemented, where completed ballots are secured, under bipartisan control, and will be counted. While technical issues can be frustrating, contingency procedures exist for precisely these circumstances," part of a statement read.
Jenkins said a bipartisan team will investigate the incident.
"The voters all deserve better, and we intend to ensure they get it," he said.
Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who is running for reelection in the lower Hudson Valley, said every scanner in the county is down.
"The Board of Elections is working with their vendors to resolve it. However, every ballot will be counted. Stay on line and vote. Do not leave the polling place without voting," he wrote on social media.
Democratic challenger Cait Conley also posted about the issue, urging residents to still vote.
"Don't be dissuaded and have your voice heard. The issue is being worked on diligently by the Board of Elections in a bipartisan manner," she wrote in part.
The race between Lawler and Conley for New York's 17th Congressional District is hotly contested. It includes most of northern Westchester.
New York Attorney General Letitia James also said her office is monitoring the issue.
"Westchester voters can still safely fill out and turn in their ballots at their polling locations. Your votes will count," she wrote.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and her Republican challenger Bruce Blakeman both addressed the issue. Hochul reassured residents that every vote will be counted.
Blakeman told voters not to leave without casting their ballots.
