Voting issues at some polling locations in Erie County

Voters at some polling locations in Erie County were unable to scan their votes today due to jammed voting machines.

7Eyewitness News has heard from voters at several locations in the county, including Clarence, West Seneca and Buffalo.

U.S. Representative Chris Collins (R-Amherst) was one of the voters whose machine was jammed at Our Lady of Peace Church on Main Street.

At West Middle School on Center Road in West Seneca, poll workers said one of their voting machines broke down four separate times Tuesday.

When a machine gets jammed, voters are asked to place their ballots in the emergency bin underneath the scanner.  After a Board of Elections technician repairs the machine, a Democratic and Republican worker scan each ballot from the emergency bin together.

Democratic Elections Commissioner Len Lenihan said these technical issues happen every election and are something the BOE is prepared to handle.  Lenihan also said there is no reason for voters to worry their vote might not be cast.

"Bottom line is every vote will count," he said.  "There is no situation where we will not protect the ballot and make sure that vote is counted."

Democratic County Executive Mark Poloncarz said he knew of people wrongfully asked to present identification while voting in Erie County.

"The inspectors were requesting ID from all voters," he said. "I just want to remind everybody that only new registrants who are voting for the first time are required to provide ID."

Lenihan said the BOE has no reports of that happening.