Voting machine problem leads to voters not casting ballots

11/6/2012

LAMBERTVILLE --- Approximately 100 early morning voters at a Bedford Township polling location reportedly were unable to cast their ballot today for nearly an hour because a voting machine wasn't working.

Resident Eric King said he was waiting in line to vote at Christ the King Church on Sterns Road in Lambertville at about 7 a.m. when on-site election workers told voters that voting would be halted until a memory card was replaced.

Most of the people in line -- approximately 100 people -- left without voting, Mr. King wrote in an e-mail to The Blade.

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Monroe County Clerk Sharon Lemasters said she isn't sure how long voting was halted, but said election workers had to replace a memory card that operates one of the voting machines.

"I haven't spoken to my poll workers yet," Ms. Lemasters said at about 10:30 a.m. today. "But the problem has been fixed. It's not an uncommon problem."

Ms. Lemasters said voting should not have been halted.

The normal procedure, when a memory card needs to be replaced, is for voters to fill out and then place their ballot into an auxiliary box. Board of election officials later review and count the ballots, she said.

"Some people might not feel comfortable with that, so they do have the option of coming back later," said Ms. Lemasters.