Pennsylvania county experiences second round of 'glitches' with voting machines
Pennsylvania, a crucial state in the presidential election cycle, is already facing growing mistrust from voters in one part of the state after another voting machine glitch raised questions.
According to Breitbart, Northhampton County, described as a "swing county," experienced glitches with their touchscreen voting machines during the most recent election, as a Politico report noted.
Making matters worse for local election officials is that it was the second time such glitches occurred, the first having happened in 2019 during the county's judges race.
Breitbart noted:
Northampton used Election Systems & Software touchscreen machines for the first time in 2019 and saw a “programming glitch” that caused a significant “undercount” of votes in the local judge’s race, the publication reported.
The glitch raised plenty of controversy at the time, but several years would pass by before something similar happened again.
Earlier this month, on the Nov. 7 Election Day, "voters discovered that their printouts meant to confirm their votes on the devices did not match their choices for two down-ballot judges races."
The Politico report indicated that Northhampton election officials are "racing" to restore voter confidence ahead of the 2024 elections, which could be some of the most consequential elections in modern U.S. history, with large turnouts expected.
Do you trust the voting machines?
Voting machine trouble in Pennsylvania triggers alarm ahead of 2024.
Officials say the issue did not affect the outcome of the votes, but are nonetheless racing to restore voter confidence ahead of next year’s election.https://t.co/dWe8cokyU3
— The Silent Majority (@siIentmajority) November 27, 2023
Northampton County Republican Committee chair Glenn Geissinger expressed his concerns over the repeated glitching situation.
"In 2019, when the issues came up with the touchscreens, we were told, ‘Don’t worry about it. The cards are recording the votes,’” he told Politico.
He added, "OK, you’re telling me now, in 2023, ‘Don’t worry about what’s printed on the card’?"
Not surprisingly, social media erupted after news of the latest round of glitches, with many expressing extreme concerns over the validity of future elections. Some even encouraged voters to file suit against the county.
Every. Single. Northampton County voter should sue the county for this travesty.
This is disgusting, and these machines cannot be used for another election. https://t.co/FmMDRKWvC5
— PA VOTER (Marla) (@PAKAG2020) November 22, 2023
Another X user wrote, "Of course it affected the results. And will again."