ES&S Expressvote XL problems: "“As I stepped up to vote I heard another poll worker say to watch the ticket, because if you vote straight democratic, it was automatically going over to a republican ballot,” said voter Sherri Short. “So after hearing this, I did vote accordingly. And then I after I spoke with my husband I did find out that it did happened to him.””
Comment: the ES&S Expressvote XL has been recently certified for use in New York. Allegra Dengler
Ballot problem during early voting
November 3, 2023 Sydney St. Claire
Richmond, Ky. (WTVQ) —
Early voting began Thursday morning, many voters in the state of Kentucky taking the opportunity to go ahead and cast their votes. But some counties are seeing problems with their electronic ballot machines, causing concerns.
“As I stepped up to vote I heard another poll worker say to watch the ticket, because if you vote straight democratic, it was automatically going over to a republican ballot,” said voter Sherri Short. “So after hearing this, I did vote accordingly. And then I after I spoke with my husband I did find out that it did happened to him.”
After learning about the problems people were having with the machines, Madison County Clerk Kenny Barger and his team got to work trying to figure out the problem, but could not seem to figure out what was happening.“If you’re trying to vote democratic straight party and you’re trying to hit this little square and you do that,” said Barger. “I was off by less than an eighth of an inch right there, so it marked R.”
They even got a technician with the manufacturer to come and fix the problem. The answer didn’t come until later.
“Around 4 o’clock yesterday, we heard it was happening in other counties, other counties that have express votes,” said Barger. “So we realized that it’s not an equipment issue and got into what happens if you get near that little square. And that’s where we realized the equipment was functioning correctly, the programming that laid this ballot could have been a better job done.”
As a voter, Short is not happy with what happened.
“This was very concerning to me, because I know we are in a tight election and it’s very important for our governor and other officials,” said Short. “And there’s going to be a lot of people who need help voting and a lot of elderly and this could be very confusing for them if you’re not paying close attention to what’s happening.”Poll officials are letting voters know of the problem and what to do to avoid it.