Breaking: Voters Turned Away in Utah County

None by KCPW

(KCPW News) Voters were turned away from the polls in Utah County this morning when the machines used to program voter access cards malfunctioned. Utah County Elections Coordinator Sandy Hoffman says the snafu was a complete surprise when polls opened:

"At 7:01 we got the first phone call, then we got another phone call," says Hoffman. "And so they just trickled in right after that because voters were showing up at 7 to vote."

Hoffman says poll workers initially made the "wrong decision" in turning voters away before beginning to offer provisional paper ballots. After consulting with the maker of the touch-screen machines, Utah County has begun using one electronic machine at each polling location to program the voter access cards.

That means every location will be short one machine - on a day when long lines are already expected.

"Worst case scenario there may be a little bit of a line during those peak hours from five to eight when people are getting off work," says Hoffman

As of 8:30 this morning, Hoffman says they had fixed the problem in 60 percent Utah County's polling locations. She hopes those who were turned away come back to vote. Lieutenant Governor's Chief of Staff Joe Demma says turning away voters is quote "unconscionable."

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