Westchester officials finish scanning emergency ballots from Election Day
Technical issues with paper ballots on November 3 forced the county to count over 79,000 emergency ballots by hand and scanner.
By Andrew Yang ·
Westchester County, New York, holds elections under strict state laws that require every valid vote to be recorded. On November 3, 2026, a technical failure disrupted that process at polling sites across the county.
Machines at voting locations failed to accept paper ballots, forcing poll workers to use emergency procedures. Voters placed their completed paper ballots into secure bags instead of inserting them into the voting machines. The Board of Elections stated that no voters were turned away from their polling places. All properly cast ballots were accepted for later counting.
Staff began processing these emergency ballots immediately after Election Day. Preliminary figures show that workers scanned 15,467 ballots on November 4. An additional 63,980 ballots were processed on November 5. The Board noted that these numbers are subject to final verification. Bipartisan staff handled the work in compliance with New York State law.
The Board of Elections acknowledged the inconvenience the issue caused voters. Officials emphasized their commitment to maintaining election integrity. They assured the public that every valid ballot would be counted. The board directed residents to its website for ongoing updates on the processing status.
Scanning of the remaining emergency ballots continues. The Board said this process will proceed until all ballots are fully processed. The next step involves final verification of the totals before the results are officially certified.
