On the morning of Election Day, Tuesday, the 3rd, scanners at polling sites across Westchester County refused to accept ballots. The county Board of Elections said the cause was the thickness of the ballot paper and that every ballot cast will be counted. Ballots that a scanner rejects can be placed in an orange emergency ballot bag.
According to ABC7 New York, voting machines (scanners) at polling sites across Westchester County would not accept ballots on the morning of Election Day. The Westchester County Board of Elections said the problem lay in the thickness of the ballot paper. The board stressed that every ballot cast will be counted.
If a scanner rejects your ballot while you are voting, do not leave the polling site. Follow the instructions and place the ballot in the orange emergency ballot bag. The board explained that ballots collected this way are stored securely and monitored, and will be counted under election procedures. It said voting itself is continuing and urged voters not to leave the polling site.
Some municipalities, including the town of North Salem, told residents that scanners were not accepting ballots and advised them to keep voting. The board said it was in continuing contact with New York State officials, county leadership and poll workers, and that technicians were working to restore normal operations. The board apologized for the inconvenience and repeated that "every eligible ballot will be counted." There was no word that the problem had been resolved.
Westchester County is a key battleground in the race for New York's 17th Congressional District. Democratic challenger Cait Conley and Republican Rep. Mike Lawler both urged voters to stay in line and cast their ballots. Lawler said election officials were checking whether the cause of the problem was the ballots or the machines.