By — Ryan Foley, Associated Press Ryan Foley, Associated Press By — Michael Biesecker, Associated Press Michael Biesecker, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/vote-scanning-machine-malfunction-expected-to-delay-counting-in-new-yorks-westchester-county Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Vote-scanning machine malfunction expected to delay counting in New York's Westchester County Politics Nov 3, 2026 11:03 PM EST 2026 ELECTION COVERAGE: Watch Live | Poll Closing Times | All Live Results | Live Updates | Live Fact Check A judge has granted permission for elections officials in a major New York county to move thousands of paper ballots to a secure warehouse after a technical problem caused vote-scanning machines to malfunction. The issue was expected to delay the counting of votes in a competitive congressional district until at least Wednesday. The New York Board of Elections said machines at locations throughout Westchester County would not accept paper ballots when polls opened Tuesday because of a programming glitch. Elections officials said the problem happened when they made a software update for one municipal contest after the machines had been prepared and…
Vote-scanning machine malfunction expected to delay counting in New York's Westchester County
In short
The New York Board of Elections identified the root cause as an isolated software patch applied to a single municipal contest after initial testing, leaving un-updated machines unable to read submitted ballots. Voters were instructed to place their completed papers into secure bags so normal polling could continue throughout Tuesday. These collection bags are scheduled for transport under police escort to a secure facility where party observers will monitor tallying. Both Lawler and Conley have publicly reassured the electorate that every cast ballot will be accounted for during the delayed count.
Key points
- Final tallies for the 17th Congressional District race are anticipated to face delays las…: Final tallies for the 17th Congressional District race are anticipated to face delays lasting at least through Wednesday.
- Both candidates confirmed that the delays resulted from technical errors rather than any…: Both candidates confirmed that the delays resulted from technical errors rather than any fraudulent activity or foul play.
- Normal voting operations continued as voters deposited paper ballots into secured bags in…: Normal voting operations continued as voters deposited paper ballots into secured bags instead of relying on the malfunctioning scanners.