Pennsylvania Voting Equipment Breaks Down in Two Counties

Several election ballot scanners are currently inoperative at multiple polling locations in Cambria and Bedford County in Pennsylvania.
The Pennsylvania Department of State said that it is in contact with officials in Cambria County to resolve the technical issues.
“Voters are continuing to vote by paper ballot, in accordance with normal operations, while the county resolves the issue with in-precinct scanning,” the department wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“We are working with the County to resolve this technical matter and remain committed to ensuring a free, fair, safe, and secure election.”
Cambria County attorney Ron Repak said that a software malfunction had caused the issue, and that a court order had been filed to extend voting times.
“The Cambria County Board of Election learned early this morning that a software malfunction in the County’s Electronic Voting System has prevented voters from scanning their ballots. This should not discourage voters from voting at their voting precincts,” he said in a statement, according to local outlet WJAC.
“The Board has filed a Court Order extending the time to vote within Cambria County. No one should be turned away from the polls if they wish to cast their vote.
“Cambria County Board of Elections took measures to have IT specialists called to review the software issue. There is a process in place for issues of this nature. All completed ballots will be accepted, secured, and counted by the Board of Elections.”
He added: “The County Board of Elections has express voting machines at precinct locations to continue to allow voting electronically, while still allowing hand ballots to be cast. The County Board of Elections will be continuing to monitor this issue and take any necessary action to ensure that all voters have an opportunity to cast their ballots.
“We thank the community for their patience and support while this issue is rectified. In summary, all votes will be counted and we continue to encourage everyone to vote.”
WJAC also reported voting issues on some machines in neighboring Bedford County.
Bedford election officials are reportedly working to fix the affected machines, and are keeping cast ballots in a lock box until they can be tabulated.
Former President Donald Trump won both Cambria County and Bedford County in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.
In 2016, he won 67.3 percent of the vote in Cambria County. In 2020, this rose slightly to 68.1 percent.
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