Westchester County Voting Machines Reject Paper Ballots

Voting machines at polling places across Westchester County, New York, were not accepting paper ballots Tuesday morning, the county Board of Elections said. Westchester is the state’s seventh most populous county.

The board said it was working with state and county officials, poll workers and equipment vendors to resolve the problem. It urged voters to fill out their ballots as instructed and said any ballot a machine could not process would be placed in a secure, monitored orange emergency bag and counted later.

County Executive Ken Jenkins called the disruption unacceptable. He said county officials, including staff from the Law Department, were monitoring polling places to help ensure voters could cast ballots without interference and that every vote was counted accurately.

Jenkins said he planned to convene a bipartisan team after the issue was resolved to review what went wrong and determine where accountability lay. He acknowledged the county had fallen short of the fair and reliable election process voters deserved.

Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican who represents New York, flagged the scanner problem in a post on X Tuesday morning. He said the cause was not yet clear and that the Board of Elections was working with vendors. He urged voters to stay in line and cast their ballots.

Speaking outside a polling place in Pearl River, Lawler said the ballots appeared to be too thick for the machines, or were not compatible with their formatting. He said emergency ballot bags were being used and reassured voters that their ballots would be counted, though delays were possible.

The Board of Elections echoed that message, encouraging voters to remain patient and stay in line. It apologized to voters and poll workers for the inconvenience, adding that no eligible voter should be discouraged from participating.

Patrick Reagan, who said he had voted in Westchester County for 40 years, told reporters he hoped all ballots would be properly accounted for. Linda Giaimo, who had accompanied a friend to vote, said she was concerned about ballots being placed in bags and planned to contact the Board of Elections.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said her office was monitoring the scanner problem and communicating with state and local election officials. She said voters could still safely complete and submit ballots at their polling places and that their votes would count.

James also pointed voters to the state’s Election Protection Hotline, at (866) 390-2992, for help with problems at polling places. New York polls opened at 6 a.m. and were scheduled to close at 9 p.m.