Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins Addresses Voting Issues
A barcode error on preprinted ballots caused voting machine problems in Westchester County, according to The Examiner News. The issue affected 44 of 45 municipalities and is being addressed by officials.
Original reporting · theexaminernews.com
Original: “Barcode Error Cited as Problem Behind Westchester Voting Issues”
Read “Barcode Error Cited as Problem Behind Westchester Voting Issues” at The Examiner News →How this was written. Westchester Made wrote this article with a language model from The Examiner News’s reporting (model: @cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast); it describes that reporting rather than adding to it. The original, linked above, is the full story.
Key points from The Examiner News’s report
- A barcode error on preprinted ballots caused voting machine problems in Westchester County, affecting 44 of 45 municipalities.
- The issue was attributed to an error in the barcoding of ballots printed by an outside vendor.
- Officials worked to reprogram backup scanners to accommodate the error and ensure that all valid votes would be counted.
Voting machine problems were reported across Westchester County on Tuesday, causing disruptions for voters, The Examiner News reported. The issues were attributed to a barcode error on preprinted Election Day ballots. County Executive Ken Jenkins stated that the problem was unacceptable and not caused by the voting machines themselves.
The error occurred on ballots printed by an outside vendor, which were then distributed to polling places. As a result, scanners at polling locations were unable to read the ballots, leading to widespread problems. Jenkins emphasized that the issue was not related to the thickness of the paper used for the ballots.
To address the problem, officials worked to reprogram backup scanners, known as Plan B devices, to accommodate the error. These devices are typically used by voters with visual or physical disabilities. Jenkins noted that there was at least one such device at each polling location, which would be used to scan the affected ballots.
The disruption began shortly after polls opened, with voters reporting that scanners would not accept their completed ballots. Poll workers were instructed to allow voters to complete their paper ballots and place them in designated emergency ballot bags. These ballots would be secured and counted after polls closed, according to election procedures.
The Board of Elections determined that the ballots could be counted using the reprogrammed scanners, with bipartisan oversight. This would eliminate the need for manual counting. Jenkins stressed that the emergency ballots were completed by eligible voters and would be counted, ensuring that every valid vote would be included.
The county executive also noted that early voting was not affected by the issue, as ballots were printed at polling locations by the Board of Elections. In contrast, the problematic ballots had been printed in advance by a vendor. Jenkins confirmed that a vendor had printed the ballots but did not know the vendor's identity, which would be investigated in a post-election review.
Jenkins assured voters that the issue was not the result of a software hack or outside interference. However, the precise circumstances leading to the barcode error are still unclear. A bipartisan review would follow the election to determine what went wrong and who was responsible.
Questions and answers
What caused the voting machine problems in Westchester County?
A barcode error on preprinted ballots, which were printed by an outside vendor, caused the issues.
Will the affected ballots be counted?
Yes, the ballots will be counted using reprogrammed scanners, with bipartisan oversight, to ensure that every valid vote is included.
Was the issue related to a software hack or outside interference?
No, according to County Executive Ken Jenkins, the issue was not the result of a software hack or outside interference.
