Technical issues with ballot scanners caused significant delays at polling places in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, a key swing state in this election. As a result, a judge has extended voting hours, with polls now set to close at 10 p.m. EST instead of the usual 8 p.m.
The county’s elections board filed an emergency petition for the extension after a software malfunction prevented voters from scanning their completed ballots. The issue began when polls opened and persisted for several hours despite attempts to fix the problem.
Voters were instructed Tuesday morning to place their ballots in an auxiliary bin, a separate compartment of the ballot box, according to Election Systems & Software (ES&S), the company that provides voting machines to the county. Those ballots will be counted after polls close.
A spokeswoman for ES&S told The Wall Street Journal that the issue wasn’t caused by a cyberattack but appeared to be related to the paper ballots.
Cambria County, located about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh, has a population of around 133,000, including 85,000 registered voters. The county typically leans Republican.
Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley addressed the issue on X.
“We understand that there are some line delays on the ground,” Whatley said. “We need you to stay in line. We need you to fill out your ballot in full and deliver it. Our Pennsylvania lawyers are all over this issue and will ensure fairness and accuracy in the process.”
The Pennsylvania Department of State issued a statement confirming it was in contact with Cambria County officials, adding, “Voters are continuing to vote by paper ballot, in accordance with normal operations, while the county resolves the issue with in-precinct scanning.”
