11/9/2016

In spite of a few glitches, Schuylkill County saw the largest voter turnout in a decade.

While voters reported troubles with the electronic voting machine, election officials said the problems were minor and did not affect the outcome of the election.

Earlier in the day, a post on the Skook GOP page on Facebook read: “We are getting reports that there are problems with voting machines in Schuylkill County. They are having difficulty accepting a straight Republican ballot. We are trying to get the problem addressed but, in the meantime, vote each office individually! Please pay attention to your ballot and make sure it is the way you want it before finalizing!”

When contacted about the problems, Frannie Brennan, director of the Schuylkill County Election Bureau, Pottsville, said the problem was not with the machines but with the way voters were using them. On the touchscreens, voters must hit the center of the squares featuring candidates’ names.

“We bought stylus pens for each precinct. When you vote with a stylus pen, it seems there’s no problem. You can vote with your finger, but you have to hit it right in the middle. And with our machines being so safe that you can’t cast the wrong ballot, there shouldn’t be a problem,” Brennan said Tuesday.

“There’s not a problem with the machines. I had complaints. I have no idea how many calls I got this morning. But I explained to them what to do and then it was fine. It was checked out by all my rovers and even a representative of the company, ES&S. They should hit the target right in the center or use the stylus instead of their fingers. And when you come to the end, it says ‘cast ballot.’ If you’re not happy with your ballot, go back and re-vote it. And it is the voter’s responsibility to cast the ballot. Not mine. Not yours,” Brennan said.

At the conclusion of vote counting, officials marked four machines to be double checked: two from Cressona, one from North Manheim and one from West Penn.

Of the county’s 87,952 registered voters, 63,805 cast ballots in Tuesday’s election, 72.55 percent.