Story County election workers will be counting ballots by hand at 12 different polling locations after the polls close at 8 p.m., according to the the Des Moines Register.
The Daily called the Story County Auditor’s office three times and emailed the office to request a comment but did not receive a response.
“Voting machines inside some precincts didn’t work Tuesday,” the article stated.
According to the article, Story County Auditor Lucy Martin told the Register that machines did not read “certain ballot styles” at about 12 of the county’s polling locations.
“We don’t know why,” Martin told the Register. “The ballots were tested. The machines were tested.”
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate told WHO-TV in an interview Tuesday evening that the machine issue did not impact the ability of voters to cast their ballot.
Martin will request a recount Thursday morning from the Story County Supervisors during a special meeting Thursday morning to approve a recount.
Brett Barker, chair of the Story County Republican Party and an Iowa House District 51 candidate, told the Register that some machines spit ballots back out at voters. The Register also reported that the Republican Party had received reports of issues at nine precincts, all outside of Ames.
The Story County GOP did not respond to requests for comment from the Daily.
Story County Democratic Party Chair Madalyn Anderson told the Daily there have been technical difficulties at “some precincts.”
“My understanding is that the scanner that counts the printed ballots are not working at some locations. Ballots are being secured by Election Officials. Election Officials in each Precinct are balanced between Democrats and Republicans,” Anderson said in an email to the Daily.
Anderson also sent a statement that was provided to them by the Iowa Secretary of State’s Office.
“We are aware of technical issues regarding tabulators in some precincts in Story County. The auditor is working with the vendor and our office to resolve it. It is not stopping anyone from casting a single ballot. It may impact how quickly we can report the results. We will follow up with more information as it becomes available,” the statement said.
