Officials have requested that voting time be extended in Cambria County after a “software malfunction” has disrupted voters’ abilities to scan their ballots, the Office of County Commissioners said Tuesday.
Election officials in the county insist “there is a process in place for issues of this nature” and the malfunction “should not discourage voters from voting at their voting precincts.”
“The Cambria County Board of Election learned early this morning that a software malfunction in the County’s Electronic Voting System has prevented voters from scanning their ballots,” a statement from the Office of County Commissioners said.
Dave Luciew, who votes in the Cambria County borough of Geistown told CNN he was surprised to see that his voting location was empty this morning until he found out why.
“When we (Luciew and his wife) got there, it was surprisingly empty. As people were exiting, they said that the machines were down,” Luciew said. “After going inside to confirm the issue, we decided to wait until later when the machines are functioning again.”
Luciew is opting to return later, he says, because it will make him feel more assured of his vote being properly counted. The Pennsylvania Department of State is also working with county officials to address the issue, spokesman Matt Heckel said.
Paper ballot: Voters can “continue to vote by paper ballot, in accordance with normal operations, while the county resolves the issue with in-precinct scanning,” Heckel said.
“We are working with the County to resolve this technical matter and are committed to ensuring a free, fair, safe, and secure election,” Heckel said.
CNN’s Tanika Gray contributed to this report
Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that officials have requested that voting time be extended.