Voters in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, found themselves caught in Election Day chaos as widespread electronic voting machine outages caused significant delays and frustrations at the polls. The breakdowns, reported early Tuesday morning, affected precincts across the county, with some poll workers instructing voters to return later in the day. The disruptions have led to long lines and increasing concerns that discouraged voters might abandon the polls altogether.
The outages are particularly alarming given Pennsylvania’s crucial role as a swing state that could determine the outcome of the presidential race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Voters showing up to cast ballots were reportedly greeted with malfunctioning machines, while some precincts began using paper ballots as a temporary solution. In Bedford County, roughly 65 miles south of Cambria, officials have also reported similar machine issues, prompting a switch to paper ballots as a backup measure.
Local NBC affiliate WJAC spoke with frustrated voters like Christine Miller, who recounted her experience at a Geistown polling site. After attempting to insert her paper ballot into the machine, Miller encountered an error message. Election workers advised her to place her ballot in a secure storage compartment within the machine, with assurances it would be counted later. “I put my ballot in the machine, and it said it couldn’t read it,” Miller explained, recounting how she tried to reinsert the ballot with no success.
In response to the technical issues, the Cambria County Board of Elections mobilized IT specialists to investigate the problem, which officials described as a “software issue.” The board emphasized that voters should not be discouraged from casting their ballots, as all completed ballots would be accepted, securely stored, and counted once the machines are back online. To address the delays, county officials are considering extending polling hours past the 8 p.m. closing time to ensure that everyone who wants to vote gets the chance.
The timing of the breakdown is concerning, as polling data suggests Pennsylvania could be a razor-thin race. Just a day earlier, Republican enthusiasm in early voting helped close the gap against the Democrats’ mail-in ballot advantage, leading both parties to push for strong turnout on Election Day. Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee secured a separate victory for election integrity, resolving a dispute that initially saw Republican poll watchers denied access to several polling sites in the state.
With Pennsylvania on a knife’s edge, the machine outages add another layer of uncertainty to an already tense race. Both parties are counting on Pennsylvania’s results, and ensuring every vote counts will be critical as the nation waits for the final tally.
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