Free Republic

An analysis of three recent statewide elections found that problems with voting machines were rare and easily fixed. This article is made possible through Spotlight PA’s collaboration with Votebeat, a nonpartisan news organization covering local election administration and voting. Sign up for Votebeat’s free newsletters here. Pennsylvania voters encountered only scattered voting-machine malfunctions that rarely affected their ability to cast ballots in recent elections, according to a Votebeat and Spotlight PA analysis of problems reported to the state. Counties reported a smattering of common problems with machines at polling places, such as paper jams and error messages. Such issues were...

A missing thumb drive for a ballot scanner forced the Lancaster County elections office to recount more than 21,000 in-person absentee ballots late Tuesday night, leaving the results of local races in question at presstime. The recounted ballots represent 42% of the county’s vote total in the election, so they could affect the results of almost every race. Rick Crimminger, chairman of the Lancaster County Election Commission, said no one is sure what happened to the thumb drive.