A coding error in voting machines in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, led to votes getting flipped on a ballot question regarding the retention of two state judges, The Associated Press (AP) reported Tuesday.
The error reportedly involved the retention votes for Pennsylvania Superior Court Judges Jack Panella and Victor Stabile. Votes marked “yes” to retain one judge and “no” for the other were being switched on the printouts from touchscreen voting machines, The AP reported, citing County Executive Lamont McClure.
The glitch, which affected over 300 machines, was reportedly noticed by voters because of the discrepancies on the printed records. The Pennsylvania Department of State confirmed the issue was confined to Northampton County and did not impact any other races, per The AP.
This is why Americans have a growing distrust of the system. It baffles me how Democrats consistently screw up the execution of elections to the peril and misfortune of the voter.
Make Elections Safe and Secure AGAIN!!! https://t.co/XhAMS3vLJo
— Byron Donalds (@ByronDonalds) November 7, 2023
After discovering the problem, the county reportedly secured a court order to continue using the machines. McClure assured corrections would be made during vote tabulation, the outlet noted. (RELATED: Georgia Official Downplays Existence Of Voting Machine Issues Ahead Of 2024, Despite Expert Concerns)
“Panella’s votes will be returned to Panella, and Stabile’s will be returned to Stabile,” McClure said, per the outlet. McClure described the malfunction as a “relatively minor glitch.”
The county reportedly attributed the error to the voting machine vendor, Election Systems & Software (ES&S). ES&S spokesperson Katina Granger asserted the mistake was due to human error and assured it was an isolated incident affecting only the judicial retention question in Northampton County, The AP noted.