Election Day is turning out to be a bit of a fiasco in Westchester County, New York, home (in part) to one of the most fiercely contested Congressional races in the entire county.
The chaos began almost as soon as polls opened Tuesday morning, with ballot scanners across the county rejecting voters' ballots. And things have only gotten more embarrassing as the day has worn on, with state officials revealing one big oversight by local election authorities has led to the nightmare.
The widespread malfunction is particularly concerning because Westchester County includes a significant portion of New York's 17th Congressional District (NY-17), where Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, the incumbent, is battling Democrat Cait Conley in a race that could help determine which party controls the House.
The problems began shortly after polls opened at 6 AM, when voters discovered that scanning machines at polling locations throughout the county were unable to accept their completed paper ballots. Election officials went into crisis mode and instructed voters to place their completed ballots into secure containers for counting later.
What could possibly go wrong?
Westchester officials initially blamed the issue on the thickness of the ballot paper, but the New York State Board of Elections subsequently revealed that the real problem was a failure by local election officials to update election programming ahead of the election.
New York State Board of Elections releases statement about Westchester County ballot scanning issues https://t.co/6vJTO98vCz
— NY State Board of Elections (@NYSBOE) November 3, 2026
It turns out that those officials had used the new programming on early voting machines, but failed to do the same for the machines being used on Election Day.
During a press conference held Tuesday afternoon, Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins revealed that the machines have been unable to scan as many as 250,000 ballots at 332 polling spots across the county.
CNN: "Westchester County, New York Executive Ken Jenkins said in a news conference this afternoon that voting machines have been unable to scan as many as 250,000 ballots in 332 polling locations across more than 40 of the county’s municipalities." https://t.co/udLBsUzEqx
— AZ Intel (@AZ_Intel_) November 3, 2026
As RedState's Jennifer Oliver O'Connell reported earlier Tuesday, Republicans and Democrats are jointly seeking a court order requiring the affected ballots to be counted centrally at the Westchester County Board of Elections.
The Republican National Committee's Election Integrity team announced:
Republicans and Democrats in New York are seeking a joint court order to require central tabulation of ballots at the County Board of Elections. This will ensure maximum transparency and accountability.
The RNC added that its observers would be on the ground to monitor the process. Meanwhile, Lawler is seeking to reassure voters that their ballots will be protected.
Both sides have agreed that the ballots will remain in their emergency bags until the polls close at 9 PM, when the ballots will then be transported – under police escort! – to the Westchester County Board of Elections. There, 10 machines capable of processing 2,000 ballots per hour will be used to count them with plenty of attorneys and observers watching.
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