Wayne County’s Board of Elections faced significant technical difficulties on Election Night, causing a delay in the announcement of results for various contested races.
This issue, which left candidates and the public in suspense, was attributed to malfunctioning early voting machines in Ontario and Lyons, eventually traced back to faulty flash drives.
The problem was fixed Wednesday morning, allowing the votes to be tabulated and the results finally released.
However, delay prompted a flurry of complaints to County Administrator Rick House and local supervisors, as well as party leaders, who were unable to provide immediate explanations for the delay.
The Finger Lakes Times reports that during a Government Operations Committee meeting on Thursday, Republican Election Commissioner John Zornow and Democratic Commissioner Gerry Clingerman addressed the technical issues.
However, the conversation quickly turned to the operational shortcomings of the Board of Elections. No county department operates under part-time supervision, pointing out the unique challenges and importance of the Board of Elections.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected].