Ballot scanner problems in New York’s Westchester County have disrupted voting in part of the competitive 17th District, where Republican congressman Mike Lawler is facing Democratic candidate Cait Conley.
The New York State Board of Elections said the issue followed a late programming change affecting a contest in one municipality. Updated programming was tested and deployed for early voting and Election Day machines in that area, it said.
However, machines elsewhere in the county continued to use the original programming and were unable to recognise or accept the ballots being used on Election Day.
Voting has continued through emergency ballot procedures, with completed ballots being securely held under bipartisan oversight before being scanned and counted under established procedures. The board said “every valid vote will be counted”.
Lawler said on Tuesday afternoon that the two campaigns and both parties were working together with the Westchester County and state boards of elections to resolve the problem.
“We’ve been working in a bipartisan way, Republicans and Democrats, both campaigns, both state parties, both national committees, to come to a solution working with the Westchester County Board of Elections and the State Board of Elections,” he told reporters.
Both Lawler and Conley urged voters to remain in line and cast their ballots.
