Westchester County officials confirmed that a technical problem with the thickness of ballot paper disrupted voting machines at several polling locations on Tuesday morning. The Board of Elections said the issue is being addressed and that every ballot will still be counted.

What happened

When voters arrived at their precincts, some scanners began rejecting the paper ballots. Municipalities such as the Town of North Salem quickly alerted residents that the machines were not accepting ballots and urged them to continue voting while technicians worked on a solution.

The Board of Elections identified the cause as the ballot paper’s thickness, which prevented the scanners from feeding the ballots correctly. To keep voting operations running, officials instructed poll workers to place any unscannable ballots into designated orange emergency ballot bags.

How the ballots will be counted

Election officials emphasized that the emergency bags are secure, will be monitored, and that the ballots inside will be counted according to standard election procedures. “Every eligible vote will be counted. No voter should be discouraged from participating in this election because of this issue,” the Board said in a statement.

Candidate reactions

Both candidates in the closely watched 17th Congressional District race addressed the problem. Democratic challenger Cait Conley posted on social media, “There are technical issues with ballot scanners in Westchester, but don’t worry: you can still vote and every vote is being counted!” Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler also urged voters to stay in line, saying, “However, every ballot will be counted. Stay on line and vote. Do not leave the polling place without voting.”

Impact on voters

Voters who encountered the scanner issue were directed to the orange bags and told to remain at the polling place until their ballot could be processed. County officials reassured the public that the problem is being resolved and that voting remains fully operational throughout Westchester.

Next steps

The Board of Elections continues to work with New York State officials, county leaders, and poll workers to restore normal scanner function. Technicians are on site at affected locations, and the Board will provide updates as the situation improves.

Westchester County is a key battleground in the 2026 midterm elections, and officials stressed that the technical glitch should not deter anyone from exercising their constitutional right to vote.

Original reporting: Brookhaven News – ABC7 New York — read the source article.