Community Corner
Voting Machine Issues Reported In Mercer Co. On Election Day: Clerk
Widespread issues with poll machine scanners in Mercer County have prompted voters to resort to manual voting Tuesday, officials said.
MERCER COUNTY - Widespread issues with poll machine scanners in Mercer County have prompted voters to resort to manual balloting Tuesday morning, the Mercer County Clerk’s Office confirmed to Patch.
The issue is specific to Dominion voting machine scanners, which are currently experiencing a reading issue, Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami-Covello told Patch.
“There is a slot on the top of the scanner and voters can vote and are voting manually,” Sollami-Covello said. “We are asking poll workers to use the official ballots because they can still vote them manually, and place them in the slot in the scanning machines and we will count them manually.”
Find out what's happening in Princetonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
For the second election cycle in a row, I go to vote and the machines are not working. Had to submit a provisional ballot. You have to do better Mercer County, NJ. The poll workers were wonderful amid the chaos.
— Eddie S. Glaude Jr. (@esglaude) November 8, 2022
No voters are being turned away and no voter should walk away.
— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) November 8, 2022
I'm getting word that the problem still persist with Mercer County Dominion machines. If you live in Mercer County ask for a provisional Ballot at polls and #VOTE Tell you friends & family the same.
— Darius Mayfield (@MrMayfieldUSA) November 8, 2022
Representatives from Dominion and other IT professionals are en route to fix the problem as of 7:30 a.m., Sollami-Covello said. “No voter should walk away,” the clerk added. “They can vote manually.”
West Windsor Township Clerk informed residents of the County-wide system outage. "All voting machines are currently down in each district across the County. Voters can still report to their respective polling locations and vote on a standard ballot and insert their ballot into the emergency slot in the machine," Gay M. Huber said.
Find out what's happening in Princetonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Issues were also reported in Robbinsville. The township and Princeton asked residents to vote using a standard ballot. "However, it appears Mercer County officials will be unable to tally those votes tonight and are working to fix the system issue," Robbinsville Township said.
At least one voter via Twitter reported downed voting machines at University Heights Elementary School in Hamilton, with a limited number of provisional ballots available.
Patch readers also reported issues at Nottingham Firehouse on Mercer Street, in Hamilton.
Sollami-Covello said provisional ballots are also available in the County Clerk’s Office safe and poll workers are trained to call the clerk’s office at 609-989-6494 should additional ballots be needed.
Did you encounter any issues while voting? Share your experience with Patch. Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com
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