Ballot printing errors disrupt voting in Pennsylvania county

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) – A problem printing ballots led to widespread voting problems in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday morning, officials said.

Cambria County Commissioner Scott Hunt confirmed that the voting problem was caused by the way the ballots were printed and not a problem with the machines. He confirmed to WJAC that mail-in ballots were not affected by this issue.

District Attorney Ron Repak said the machine would not read the ballot markings because of the way they were printed, adding that testing was done before Election Day. However, due to the nature of the issue, the error could not be discovered until voting began.

Repak urges voters to continue to cast their ballots and trust that their votes will be counted.

“We will continue to work with the state and make sure that we either fix the problem or continue to count the votes, and if we have to count by hand, we have to do that,” Repak said. “Ultimately, we took steps to make sure we could take care of it.

Repak said the solutions are threefold.

First, election officials will hand-count ballots that were dropped off in mailboxes the previous Tuesday. Second, they have express voting machines to speed up the process. Third, officials have ordered additional ballots and hope to begin normal voting Tuesday afternoon.

A court order extended voting hours in Cambria County from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. In the filing, election officials reported that a software error occurred in Cambria County's electronic voting system that prevented voters from scanning their completed ballots.

Until the issue can be resolved, county election officials say voters can fill out their ballot and place it in a secure and locked mailbox.

Voters reported that some polling places did not follow that instruction earlier, but instead turned people away and told them to come back later.

Repak said election observers were on site to ensure the security of ballots. He also said Cambria County will now use express voting machines to help voters get through lines faster.

It is unclear how long it will take to resolve the issue, but Repak confirmed there are measures in place to ensure everyone can vote.

“You can get in line until 10 p.m. and your vote will count,” Repak said.