Westchester Voting Machines Reject Ballots, Triggering Emergency Bag Procedure

Voters in Westchester County faced a technical crisis on Election Day as electronic voting machines refused to accept paper ballots at polling locations across the state's seventh most populous county. The malfunction forced poll workers to bypass the digital scanners and physically collect completed ballots, creating a backup procedure that officials say will ensure every vote is tallied.

The Westchester County Board of Elections identified the root cause as a programming inconsistency following an update. A change to the election code for one specific municipality was tested and deployed for early voting and local Election Day machines. However, machines in the remainder of the county continued running the original software. This mismatch prevented the older systems from recognizing the updated ballot format.

Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican representing a large portion of the county, provided a physical explanation for the failure. He stated that the ballots were too thick for the machines to read due to formatting issues. Lawler noted that no machines were accepting ballots anywhere in the county. He urged voters to remain at their polling places, asserting that every ballot would be counted despite the scanner failure.

County Executive Ken Jenkins labeled the situation unacceptable and directed county officials, including the Law Department, to monitor the process. Jenkins stated that once the technical issues are resolved, he will convene a bipartisan team to review the decisions that led to the failure. He said the team will determine accountability and implement measures to prevent a recurrence. Jenkins told voters the county fell short of the standard for a fair and secure election process.

Voters reported seeing poll workers place their completed paper ballots into red or orange bags. The Board of Elections confirmed that unprocessable ballots go into designated orange emergency ballot bags. These bags remain secure and monitored until they are counted. The board apologized for the inconvenience and emphasized that no voter should be discouraged from participating because of the issue.

State Attorney General Letitia James said her office was monitoring the scanner issue and communicating with local election officials. She reminded residents that they could safely fill out and turn in their ballots at their polling locations. The attorney general also shared the state's Election Protection Hotline number for voter assistance.

Polls in New York opened at 6 a.m. and were scheduled to close at 9 p.m. Voters expressed a mix of patience and frustration. Patrick Reagan, a voter of 40 years in the county, hoped all votes would be properly accounted for. Linda Giaimo, who brought a friend to vote, said she planned to call the Board of Elections regarding the hand-collection procedure.