Voters from Westchester County, north of New York, faced difficulties voting today, with machines rejecting ballots, which had to be deposited in bags for emergency situations.
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03/11/2026
by
Lusa
Othe voters of Westchester County, north of New York, today faced difficulties in voting, with the machines rejecting ballots, which had to be deposited in bags for emergency situations.
Westchester is part of the 17th Congressional District of New York (equivalent to about 30% of the district), where Republican Mike Lawler seeks reelection against Democrat Cait Conley.
This dispute is one of those that may prove decisive for the control of the House of Representatives (low chamber), currently with republican majority.
According to the Axios website, the breakdown may be related to an update of the county's electoral schedule, launched after the initial tests on the equipment used on election day.
Axios, who cites electoral officials, reported that the software update was not installed on all machines, which prevented them from recognizing and accepting the voting papers.
The county president, Ken Jenkins, apologized to the voters on behalf of the Westchester Electoral Commission and asked them to stay in line, be patient and, above all, exercise their right to vote.
The county leader also said that steps are being taken to resolve the problem as soon as possible and that citizens' votes will be counted.
The results may take time to be released in one of the most important electoral disputes for the House of Representatives.
Jenkins demanded an investigation and stated that he had instructed county officials, including legal department representatives, to oversee the electoral process and ensure that voters could exercise their right without interference and that all votes were counted correctly.
Congressmans Lawley and Conley themselves also asked voters to stand in line and vote.
The Electoral Commission initially reported that a paper-thickness problem prevented machines from accepting voting papers, but later updated their statement and withdrew this reference, according to local media cited by the news agency France-Presse (AFP).
State Attorney Letitia James is aware of the situation and has also appealed to voters not to be discouraged.
“ The polls are open and your vote will remain valid. The Electoral Commission is working to solve technical problems with voting bulletin readers in some polling centers, and my office is following the situation,” wrote the prosecutor on social network X.