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Ballot scanners across Westchester County, New York, stop accepting paper ballots on Election Day

Officials say every vote will be counted, with ballots held in emergency bags, while the cause is unclear in a closely watched House race.

13 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from liberal outlets
Liberal2 outletspossible delay in a key House raceCenter4 outletsscanner failure, officials' assurances ballots are safeConservative7 outletsScanner failure and a possible delayed House count
Published 4 min readMoney and daily life
Overview

Ballot scanners at polling sites across Westchester County, New York, stopped accepting paper ballots on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. The county Board of Elections said the exact cause is unclear. Its first statement pointed to the thickness of the ballots, and a later one dropped that reference.

Voters were told to keep filling out paper ballots, which go into orange emergency bags to be secured and counted later. Letitia James, a Democrat, said her office is monitoring and that voters can still safely turn in ballots. The state Board of Elections said emergency ballot procedures are in place, with completed ballots secured under bipartisan control.

Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican, said every scanner in the county had a problem and urged voters to stay in line. His Democratic opponent, Cait Conley, said every vote is being counted. Their race in New York's 17th District is one of the closest House contests.

The county covers roughly 30% of the district. County Executive Ken Jenkins called the situation unacceptable and said he will convene a bipartisan review. New York polls were set to stay open until 9 p.m.

Key figures
  • roughly 30% share of New York's 17th District covered by Westchester County — Axios
  • 9 p.m. time New York polls close — UPI

Three sides of the story

Liberal2 outlets

possible delay in a key House race

Axios leads with "Voting machine chaos hits key House battleground" and stresses that results could be delayed in the race between Rep. Mike Lawler and Democrat Cait Conley. It reports that the cause remains unclear and that officials first blamed ballot thickness, then removed that explanation. It quotes the county's pledge, "Every eligible vote will be counted," and notes that Attorney General Letitia James is monitoring.

It also includes Katie Miller's claim on X that "This is how the Left steals elections," and says voters told Fox 5 NY they filled out paper ballots instead. Axios adds that the county covers roughly 30% of the district and that technology vulnerabilities have been a issue. The New York Times reports voting was underway across the county despite scanner problems at many polling sites, officials said.

Center4 outlets

scanner failure, officials' assurances ballots are safe

UPI headlines that scanners glitched and "officials say ballots are safe." It quotes Attorney General James, state Board of Elections spokesperson Kathleen McGrath and Lawler, and reports that the county board said the malfunction affected every scanner. It describes the orange emergency bags and the board's statement that the cause is unclear.

UPI adds Derek Tisler of the Brennan Center, who said the situation looked more widespread than typical glitches but was still "well within the world of possibilities that election officials plan for." The Hill and NewsNation title their reports around James monitoring the ballot scanning issue, and The Hill says scanners stopped accepting votes, according to state officials. Forbes reports that machines were down in Westchester County on Tuesday morning, amid a close House contest, and its headline also covers flooding that forces changes in Florida.

Conservative7 outlets

Scanner failure and a possible delayed House count

Fox News reports that machines were not accepting paper ballots and quotes County Executive Ken Jenkins calling the situation "unacceptable" and promising a review to find "where accountability lies." It also relays Lawler telling CNN outside a polling place in Pearl River that the issue appeared to involve ballot thickness and the machines' formatting, and it adds voters' reactions in Yonkers. The Post Millennial headlines the "glitch" and Gov. Kathy Hochul's assurance that all votes will be counted.

It also notes an election source who told News 12 that the winner of NY17 could not be known on election night. The Washington Examiner says the problem is set to delay ballot counting for Lawler and quotes Lawler's post on X saying "we are already in court" so that ballots are counted in one central location. The Daily Signal notes that the Board of Elections removed "thickness" from its statement and embeds a tweet about it.

It also reports, citing Local 10 News, that Broward County, Florida, had scanner problems resolved by late morning.

Money and daily life

For Westchester voters on Nov. 3, officials say ballots filled out on paper are placed in orange emergency bags, secured and counted later. Attorney General James said voters can still safely turn in ballots at their polling locations, and the state board said completed ballots are secured under bipartisan control.

All sources: 14 articles from 13 outlets

Liberal (2)

Center (4)

Conservative (8)

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