Voting was proceeding across Westchester County, N.Y., amid an issue with paper ballots that prevented some machines from accepting them, county election officials said on Tuesday.
Voters can still safely fill out and submit their ballots, Tajian M. Nelson, the Democratic commissioner of the county board of elections, and Douglas A. Colety, the Republican commissioner, said in a statement.
Letitia James, the New York State attorney general, wrote on social media that her office was monitoring the issue.
Voters in the county are casting ballots in several contests, including for governor and two House seats — the 16th District in the southern part of the county and the competitive 17th District in the north.
“Every ballot will be counted. Stay on line and vote,” Representative Mike Lawler, a Republican seeking re-election in the 17th District, wrote on social media. He is locked in a tight race against Cait Conley, a Democrat, who wrote: “Don’t be dissuaded and have your voice heard.”
The glitch affected the machines’ ability to scan ballots at many polling sites, according to town and county officials. Instead of feeding ballots into the machines, voters were being instructed to place them into separate, secure bags — a standard emergency protocol aimed at ensuring that voting continues without disruption.
Those ballots will be counted, the county election commissioners said.
“While technical issues can be frustrating, contingency procedures exist for precisely these circumstances,” Kathleen R. McGrath, a spokeswoman for the New York State Board of Elections, said in a statement. “Bipartisan election officials are diligently working to ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast their ballot.”
Minor snags with voting machines happen in virtually every election and are usually resolved uneventfully. While the glitches on Tuesday appeared to worry some voters, officials said that every registered voter could be assured they would be able to cast a ballot.
Derek Tisler, a lawyer with the Brennan Center’s Elections and Government Program who specializes in election administration and security, said that while the situation in Westchester County appeared to be more widespread than typical glitches, it was still “well within the world of possibilities that election officials plan for.”
Voters should not go to a different polling location, officials in the town of North Salem said on social media.
It was not clear whether the issue would extend the time it takes to count the ballots or whether technicians would be able to fix the machines before the polls close Tuesday night. Polling stations in New York are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Claire Fahy contributed reporting.
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