Some CH Voters Must Use Paper

A computer programming problem caused voting machines to malfunction in about one-third of the township's voting districts early Tuesday, officials said, forcing some voters to use paper ballots while workers tried to repair the problem.

"We have crews working on the problem and hope that they will be able to fix the problem very soon, so voters can go back to using the machines," said Phyllis Pearl, superintendent of elections for Camden County, said shortly after 9 a.m.

Pearl said the programing work is performed by a private company and the specific cause of the problem had not been determined. Some voters said the machines would not accept votes for a mayoral candidate.

It was not known if the problem would force election officials to extend polling hours in the township. Pearl said any such request would have to be approved by a Superior Court judge.

Susan Jacobucci, the attorney for Cherry Hill Township, said the problem was discovered shortly after the polls opened at 6 a.m. when voters complained that machines would not register their votes in the Cherry Hill mayoral race. She had no estimate of how many voters had problems.

Paper ballots were issued to some. Each district had 30 emergency paper ballots on hand, Jacobucci said, and township police and county sheriff's officers delivered 120 more to each polling place.

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Author: NBC10/AP