Problems With Tabulators Reading Ballots Reported In Greenwich

GREENWICH, CT — A portion of ballots in Greenwich will have to be hand-counted due to issues with tabulators in District 1 and with some early voting ballots, according to Greenwich Registrars of Voters Fred DeCaro and Mary Hegarty.

"We are encountering problems with tabulators reading ballots for District 1. This was reported at the polling place, Julian Curtiss," DeCaro said in a joint message with Hegarty on Tuesday morning.

Hegarty also found a similar problem while processing early vote ballots beginning at 6 a.m.

All tabulators are tested with actual live ballots pulled from the same packages and used on Election Day, according to DeCaro, who said he confirmed the problem Tuesday morning when the issue was first reported.

"We have determined this is not a programming issue and we believe it may be a misalignment on certain ballots printed," the Registrars said. "It is not happening to every ballot in a package, and is only happening to ballots in District 1 (not 1A). The tabulator is sensitive to make certain no ballots from another district are used, or 'fake ballots.'"

As a result, voters at the polling place are instructed to place ballots into a locked auxiliary bin, the Registrars said.

A team of counters hired by both the Republican and Democratic Registrars is being deployed; they will begin counting ballots at 6 p.m. so results will not be delayed, the Registrars said.

Teams are already assembled to handle hand counts for early and absentee votes, as hand counts are "always anticipated" for absentee, and for early votes since those ballots were not placed directly in the tabulator, the Registrars said.

DeCaro noted that printing problems are not common, and this is the first issue in his 16 years as a Registrar in Greenwich. DeCaro pointed to a larger-scale printing issue in Shasta County in California.

Polls close in Connecticut at 8 p.m. Tuesday.