Voting machine failures hit four states as officials say every ballot will count

Technical problems with voting equipment were reported in North Carolina, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania on Tuesday, according to The Hill ¹. New York State election officials said the cause of a scanner disruption there was a programming error ².

The most serious disruption came in Westchester County, New York, where ballot scanners stopped accepting hand-marked paper ballots in 44 of the county's 45 municipalities, NBC News reported ². New York State election officials said the cause was a programming error ². Voters were told to place their completed ballots in secure orange emergency bags, which county officials said would be counted after polls close at 9 p.m. ¹².

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Westchester is home to a closely watched House race in the 17th Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Mike Lawler faces Democrat Cait Conley ². Both candidates urged voters not to be discouraged by the scanner problems ².

Every vote will be counted; I think I need to say that three times. Every vote will be counted, every vote will be counted.

In Massachusetts, four precincts in the city of New Bedford had machine problems Tuesday morning, city spokesperson Jack Thuon said ¹. He said an internal wire was physically interfering with the port where ballots are fed, and that the size of the ballot may have contributed ¹. Officials adjusted the wires and the machines returned to normal operation ¹.

North Carolina's State Board of Elections approved voting extensions at the Tabor City Courthouse in Columbus County and shorter extensions in Gates, Lenoir, Wilson and Hertford counties ¹. Polling hours were extended to 8:15 p.m. in Columbus County, 8 p.m. in Lenoir County, 7:55 p.m. in Hertford County and 7:45 p.m. in Wilson County ¹. The board said the extensions would delay posting of statewide results by 45 minutes ¹.

In Chester County, Pennsylvania, machine set-up issues delayed the opening of three precincts Tuesday morning, according to the county website ¹. A petition for a 30-minute extension was granted, so those precincts will stay open until 8:30 p.m. while all others close at 8 p.m. ¹.

On tapeWNYC · Nov 3

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False cheating claims spread online

The malfunctions quickly fed conspiracy theories online. Rep. Claudia Tenner, R-N.Y., chair of the House Election Integrity Caucus, posted that "The Democrats in NY will do anything and everything to cheat" ². Laura Loomer wrote that "Democrats are already trying to steal the election in New York today," in a post that drew more than 100,000 views ². Neither offered evidence, and state officials attributed the problems to a programming error ².

Doug Sanderson, the election board secretary in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, said such glitches are ordinary. "It's not uncommon to have some voting machines cause us a few problems early in the day. It's a common occurrence," he said ². He added that "the climate and the sensitive everyone has around this election causes people to be a little bit more on edge than they normally would be" ².

That matters because false claims about malfunctioning machines can be used later to challenge results, and researchers who study online misinformation have warned about exactly that risk ². The New York State Board of Elections said ballots placed in the emergency bags are secured under bipartisan control and will be counted ².

The Record

1. Nov 3, 2026Ballot scanners failed in 44 of 45 Westchester County, New York, municipalities; officials blamed a programming error ².
2. Nov 3, 2026North Carolina's State Board of Elections extended voting hours in Columbus, Gates, Lenoir, Wilson and Hertford counties, delaying statewide results by 45 minutes ¹.
3. Nov 3, 2026Chester County, Pennsylvania, extended voting by 30 minutes at three precincts after machine set-up issues ¹.

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<h2>Voting machine failures hit four states as officials say every ballot will count</h2> <p><em>By The GOP Files Campaign Desk. This article first appeared on <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/voting-machine-failures-hit-four-states-as-officials-say-every-ballot-will-count">The GOP Files</a> on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.</em></p> <p>Technical problems with voting equipment were reported in North Carolina, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania on Tuesday, according to The Hill . New York State election officials said the cause of a scanner disruption there was a programming error .</p> <p>The most serious disruption came in Westchester County, New York, where ballot scanners stopped accepting hand-marked paper ballots in 44 of the county&#39;s 45 municipalities, NBC News reported . New York State election officials said the cause was a programming error . Voters were told to place their completed ballots in secure orange emergency bags, which county officials said would be counted after polls close at 9 p.m. .</p> <p>Westchester is home to a closely watched House race in the 17th Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Mike Lawler faces Democrat Cait Conley . Both candidates urged voters not to be discouraged by the scanner problems .</p> <blockquote><p>Every vote will be counted; I think I need to say that three times. Every vote will be counted, every vote will be counted.</p><p>&mdash; Kathy Hochul, Governor, D-N.Y.</p></blockquote> <p>In Massachusetts, four precincts in the city of New Bedford had machine problems Tuesday morning, city spokesperson Jack Thuon said . He said an internal wire was physically interfering with the port where ballots are fed, and that the size of the ballot may have contributed . Officials adjusted the wires and the machines returned to normal operation .</p> <p>North Carolina&#39;s State Board of Elections approved voting extensions at the Tabor City Courthouse in Columbus County and shorter extensions in Gates, Lenoir, Wilson and Hertford counties . Polling hours were extended to 8:15 p.m. in Columbus County, 8 p.m. in Lenoir County, 7:55 p.m. in Hertford County and 7:45 p.m. in Wilson County . The board said the extensions would delay posting of statewide results by 45 minutes .</p> <p>In Chester County, Pennsylvania, machine set-up issues delayed the opening of three precincts Tuesday morning, according to the county website . A petition for a 30-minute extension was granted, so those precincts will stay open until 8:30 p.m. while all others close at 8 p.m. .</p> <h2>False cheating claims spread online</h2> <p>The malfunctions quickly fed conspiracy theories online. Rep. Claudia Tenner, R-N.Y., chair of the House Election Integrity Caucus, posted that &quot;The Democrats in NY will do anything and everything to cheat&quot; . Laura Loomer wrote that &quot;Democrats are already trying to steal the election in New York today,&quot; in a post that drew more than 100,000 views . Neither offered evidence, and state officials attributed the problems to a programming error .</p> <p>Doug Sanderson, the election board secretary in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, said such glitches are ordinary. &quot;It&#39;s not uncommon to have some voting machines cause us a few problems early in the day. It&#39;s a common occurrence,&quot; he said . He added that &quot;the climate and the sensitive everyone has around this election causes people to be a little bit more on edge than they normally would be&quot; .</p> <p>That matters because false claims about malfunctioning machines can be used later to challenge results, and researchers who study online misinformation have warned about exactly that risk . The New York State Board of Elections said ballots placed in the emergency bags are secured under bipartisan control and will be counted .</p> <p><em>Read the original, with every source linked, at <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/story/voting-machine-failures-hit-four-states-as-officials-say-every-ballot-will-count">thegopfiles.com</a>. Republished under The GOP Files' <a href="https://thegopfiles.com/republish">free republishing terms</a>.</em></p> <img src="https://thegopfiles.com/api/rp/voting-machine-failures-hit-four-states-as-officials-say-every-ballot-will-count.gif" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border:0;width:1px;height:1px">

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Sources

1. The Hill, “North Carolina, Massachusetts, New York report technical issues at polls” (2026-11-03). thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6193947-election-day-poll-tech
2. NBC News, “Routine voting issues fuel conspiracy theories and confusion” (2026-11-03). nbcnews.com/tech/misinformation/routine-voting-issues-fuel-c

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