Voters Deal with Broken Ballot Machines, Closed Election Sites and Other Issues

On Election day, some underreported problems circulated around voting stations. Alongside the stress caused by the ongoing pandemic, voters had to deal with other obstacles such as broken ballot machines and closed election stations across the US.

PJeffC from New York wrote on Twitter that there were no working scanners at CS 150 on Fox Street in the Bronx, and voting was “Very disorganized."

Florida reporter Josh Navarro wrote there were technical issues with polling machines in Grace Church in Rochester, and added that "An elections inspector on scene told me off-camera it has been two hours they are trying to troubleshoot it."

Dave Greber reported long queues and power cord issues in Buffalo, NY. Nonetheless, “The issue has been resolved, and all 314 precincts in @ErieCountyNY are open and operating."

Examiner Media wrote that another polling location in Pleasantville had experienced technical issues with iPads, and voters were "asked to return later."

At the same time, a Twitter user from Charlotte, North Carolina, wrote that "There is no head precinct judge at Precinct 67 (Landsdowne Elem) in Charlotte and people can't vote."

A tweet by GabeCaruso read that voters were not let into a voting station in East Harlem, while @austingrantt tweeted that some people at 1349 Macon Rd in Griffin were told they had already voted.

Meanwhile, Daybreak reporter Zach Logan reported that other polling locations in Georgia had experienced technical issues with their scanners, and voters “are placing their ballots in a locked box to be scanned later,” while others say “they'll wait and come back."

Iyani Lenice, a reporter for CBS46 wrote that there was a system glitch with voting machines in Spalding County, and the officials claim that "provisional ballots will be sent to all 18 precincts to allow voters to vote via paper ballot."

Apart from the technical issues at the polling locations, COVID-19 has also caused additional panic in voters as journalist Robert Cohen posted pictures of positive coronavirus individuals voting in St. Louis.

In the meantime, a voter from Pennsylvania tweeted to @ABC an image of a crowded room at an election location, writing: "zero social distancing."