Technical issues at the polls hit Pennsylvania, county extends voting hours

A few hours into polls opening, small technical issues have popped up at Pennsylvania polling sites, but officials say it shouldn’t impact ballots.

The Pennsylvania Department of State announced an “issue with in-precinct scanning” in Cambria County on Tuesday morning, plus other difficulties across the state. Still, it reassured voters can continue to submit ballots as planned. 

“Voters are continuing to vote by paper ballot, in accordance with normal operation, while the county resolves the issues with in-precinct scanning,” the department said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, at 9:45 a.m. 

Officials in Cambria County reiterated voters won’t be turned away from the polls as the technical issues won’t impact their ballot. 

“The Cambria County Board of Election learned early this morning that a software malfunction in the County’s electronic voting system has prevented voters from scanning their ballots,” said Cambria County attorney Ron Repak in a statement to Johnstown local news station WJAC. “This should not discourage voters from voting at their voting precincts.”  

Cambria County Board of Election will extend voting hours from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., citing technical malfunctions and an ongoing process of IT specialists reviewing the “software issue.”

“All completed ballots will be accepted, secured and counted by the Board of Elections,” the court order said. “The County Board of Elections has express voting machines at precinct locations to continue to allow voting electronically, while still allowing hand ballots to be cast.” 

Voters who get in line after 8 p.m. in Cambria County will fill out a provisional ballot, according to the Department of State. Other counties can still start reporting unofficial results once the polls close at 8 p.m.

WJAC has reported voting machines in neighboring Bedford County are also not functioning, but local election officials are reportedly working to fix the affected machines and are securing ballots in a lock box until they can be tabulated. 

The Department of State and the Cambria County elections division have not responded to Technical.ly’s request for further comment.

Minor technical issues across other PA counties

Other counties in Pennsylvania are reporting minor difficulties, but voters should stick to their plans to cast their ballots. At the time of publication, none of the issues are expected to impact the count, integrity or security of the votes. 

Pennsylvania’s two largest cities, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, have not reported any issues at the time of publication.

Blair County 

A “simple delivery issue” with voting machines in Martinsburg, Blair County was reported by local news station WTAJ this morning. The issue has since been resolved after switching voting machines, according to WTAJ. 

Huntington County 

There are reports of voting problems in Huntingdon County, specifically at Lower Spruce Creek Presbyterian Church, reported WTAJ. The news outlet did not give specifics on the issues. The Huntingdon County elections office declined to comment. 

Somerset County 

There are reports of voting problems in Meyersdale in Somerset County, according to WTAJ. There are two polling locations in Meyersdale and both had issues with a jammed ballot in a voting machine scanner, Tina Pritts, director of voter registrations and elections, told Technical.ly.

These issues have since been resolved and the county hasn’t had any other issues, she said. 

Clearfield County 

There are reports of voting problems in Clearfield, according to WTAJ, but there are no specific details available. The Clearfield County Election and Voter Registration office did not return requests for comment. 

Luzerne County

Laflin Borough in Luzerne County extended voting until 9:30 p.m after opening 90 minutes late this morning. People who arrive after 8 p.m. will vote via provisional ballot, according to the Department of State.

Pennsylvanians can still count on a safe and accurate election

Even with scanner malfunctions, Pennsylvania voters can still cast their ballots and have them counted accurately. This is because Pennsylvania’s voting system requires a paper trail. 

Before the 2020 election, Pennsylvania updated its voting system to require voters to fill out a paper ballot. Paper ballots, as opposed to electronic ones, create a transparent, physical record to be audited after the election. 

A majority of Pennsylvania counties require voters to fill out a paper ballot and insert it into a scanning machine to be tabulated. Other counties in the commonwealth use voting machines to print a paper ballot that corresponds to the voter’s selections. Both processes keep an electronic and paper record of the votes. 

Before the election, voting machines are stored in secure facilities that can only be accessed by authorized election personnel, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State website. None of the machines are connected to the internet, and some have additional features, like audit logs and encryption capabilities, to prevent election interference. 

The machines also undergo logic and accuracy testing before in-person voting. However, if issues still arise on Election Day, Pennsylvania has backup procedures to ensure voters can still cast their ballots, according to reporting from the Associated Press. 

When an issue with a scanner is identified, an IT specialist is deployed to fix the machine. If the issue causes a significant impact on the voting location, the local Board of Elections will determine if they need to petition the county courts to extend voting hours. 

Emergency paper ballots are also available if machines cannot be repaired or replaced during Election Day. Like mail-in ballots or provisional ballots, these paper ballots can be tabulated after polls close. 

Multiple post-election audits also help ensure each vote is counted accurately.