How counties in Pennsylvania are dealing with unexpected problems on Election Day

On Tuesday, millions of people in Pennsylvania will travel to their local polling place to cast their vote.

Election workers want everything to go smoothly, but sometimes glitches occur.

According to Jeff Greenburg, who has been an elections director for 13 years, the most common disruptions at polling precincts are late openings, staff shortages and problems with voting machines. Today, he is a senior election administration advisor at the Committee of Seventy, a nonpartisan organization focused on public policy engagement and advocacy.

Anyone can report a problem with the election process. You can Call your district election office, contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairsor contact a Voter hotline operated by nonprofit organizations.

What happens if my polling station doesn't open on time or isn't full?

Sometimes workers arrive late or facility owners forget to unlock the doors on time, Greenburg said.

Polling stations open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday and remain open until 8 p.m. Anyone standing in line when the polls close can vote.

Voters can find their local polling place on-line.

“County election offices have contact information for both poll workers and facilities in case doors are locked or poll workers don’t show up,” Greenburg said.

If there is a labor shortage at a polling place, workers can be relocated or hired from other locations, Greenburg said. Pennsylvania law allows employees to fill a vacancy with someone who voted if that person is willing to help.

What happens if there are problems with the voting machine?

Multiple backups are in place so voters can cast their votes if there are problems with the voting machines.

Greenburg said counties typically have mobile technicians who respond when problems arise. He said they will be dispatched as soon as possible once the issue is reported.

Typically, the reports go from the polling district to the district election office. If the issue cannot be resolved or legal action is necessary, the county attorney and election board will determine whether further action is necessary.

“If there is a significant impact on the polling location, the BOE could petition the county courts to extend hours,” Greenburg said.

Each county election office has a process for disseminating important information on Election Day. This can be done through the county website, social media accounts, or through local news outlets.

“People should only rely on trusted sources for this information,” Greenburg said. “Whether it’s through the county website or through social media accounts or through local media.”

Counties also have emergency paper ballots available if the machines cannot be repaired or replaced on Election Day.

Eva Weyrich, Juniata County elections director, said the county only uses paper ballots and every polling place has a machine tabulator.

Even if something goes wrong with the tabulator, voters can fill out their ballots while a technician travels to the county to fix the problem.

Weyrich said the district has never had a machine fail throughout the day.

Weyrich said Juniata County prefers the hand-marked ballot system.

“We can always go back and count the ballots manually to verify that the machine was accurate,” Weyrich said.

In 47 counties, voters fill out their ballots by hand. The other 27 have voting machines that print paper ballots with the voter's information, which can also be verified after an election.

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This story is part of a series of explainers focused on the Pennsylvania election, produced in collaboration between WITF, led by democracy reporter Jordan Wilkie, and The Associated Press.

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