Westchester County voting machines reject paper ballots but will count them

Summarised from 4 outlets · 5 reports · Updated 3 Nov, 20:03 · Archive

Voting machines in Westchester County, New York, stopped accepting paper ballots on polling day, but officials said all votes will still be counted.

Voting machines in Westchester County, New York, the state's seventh most populous county, were unable to accept paper ballots at polling locations throughout the county, the Westchester County Board of Elections confirmed.

The exact cause of the malfunction was unclear, but officials said the glitch affected every ballot scanner in the county. The issues began when polls opened at 6 a.m. "While technical issues can be frustrating, contingency procedures exist for precisely these circumstances," a spokesperson for the New York State Board of Elections said.

Officials urged voters to remain in line and continue to complete their paper ballots as instructed by poll workers. Ballots that could not be processed by voting machines were placed in designated orange emergency ballot bags, which remained secure and under bipartisan control.

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said the situation was unacceptable and directed county officials to monitor the voting process to ensure that every eligible voter could cast their ballot and every vote was properly and accurately counted. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, said voters could still safely vote at their usual precincts and that their votes would count.

Mike Lawler, a Republican representing the area, reminded people to stay and vote. Jenkins said that once the issues were resolved, he would convene a bipartisan team to conduct a thorough review of the decisions and failures that led to the situation, determine where accountability lay, and ensure it would not happen again.

Minor issues with voting machines are not uncommon. The New York State Board of Elections noted that "long-established emergency ballot procedures have been implemented" in such circumstances.

How it is being reported

• Katie Miller is already spreading election conspiracies as polling site issues are reported in New YorkElection officials in Westchester County said they were aware of issues with voting scanners and assured the public that every vote would be countedIndependent World · 3 Nov, 19:55
• Westchester County ballot scanners down at some midterm election sites in New YorkSome ballot scanners at polling sites in Westchester County, New York, are down, officials said. CBS News' Shannelle Kaul has more.CBS News · 3 Nov, 19:45
• Ballow scanners glitch in N.Y., officials say ballots are safeVoting machines in polling sites in Westchester County, N.Y., had glitches Tuesday when the ballot scanners stopped accepting votes, officials said.UPI · 3 Nov, 17:32
• Election cybersecurity explainedMany ballot scanners are down across New York's Westchester County, officials say. However, voters can still vote, as emergency backup procedures are in place. CBS News legal expert Chris Krebs has more on election security and technology.CBS News · 3 Nov, 16:26
• Paper ballots in NY county unable to be accepted by voting machines, will still be countedWestchester County Board of Elections confirms voting machines are rejecting paper ballots countywide as officials scramble to resolve the issue.Fox News · 3 Nov, 16:03

In this story: Westchester County · New York · Ken Jenkins · Letitia James · Mike Lawler · Westchester County Board of Elections · New York State Board of Elections

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log