Officials reviewing Burlington County voting procedures after hours-long lines on Election Day
BURLINGTON COUNTY, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Burlington County officials are set to review election night procedures and staffing amid bipartisan calls for an investigation after voters waited in lines for hours at the polls on Tuesday.
The lines were so long, that a judge extended voting hours to 9 p.m. across the county.
Burlington County Commissioners released a statement Wednesday afternoon, saying the process and the number of machines used will be examined, calling long lines and wait times "unacceptable."
One of the races voters cast ballots for was the U.S. Senate, where Democratic Representative Andy Kim had a decisive victory over Republican Curtis Bashaw.
"I just want to make sure we're addressing the high costs right now that are squeezing so many families. I can't tell you how many parents say, it just feels like it's hard for them to breathe with all the anxiety about what comes next for their kids," said Kim on Tuesday night.
As the celebration was underway, some voters were still waiting to cast their ballots in Burlington County.
Action News spoke with voters who were in line after midnight in Florence, New Jersey.
"I've been here for -- I'm so tired right now let's see -- five hours," said resident Clark Boyd.
The county used new voting machines, a system they say is more secure.
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Local officials held outreach events before Election Day, where the public could test out the new machines, which required voters to fill out their ballot on a screen, print it out, and then insert it into another device.
Extremely high turnout and some technical glitches prolonged the process.
"One machine pretty much working at all times. There's two in there, the one just ran out of ink actually as I was about to go cast my ballots, so we had to wait an extra 25 to 30 minutes," said Florence voter Warren DuBell.
The county did report connectivity issues early in the morning but said those issues were resolved fairly quickly.
Among those in an hours-long line was Tina Zappile, who heads up the William J. Hughes Public Policy Center at Stockton University.
"You have a printed piece of paper," said Zappile. "Something you didn't have before."
She said people she spoke to in line generally liked the new system, just not how long it took.
"We used to walk in, press a few buttons, press the button on the same panel and we're done. So more secure elections and new voting machines that have multiple processes are going to take longer," said Zappile.
County officials released a statement on the issue, which read in part:
"The number of machines deployed at each polling locations was based on recommendations from the County's voting machine vendor and input from the bipartisan Board of Elections and municipal clerks. If additional machines or other changes are needed to ensure smoother elections, the County is committed to making those improvements."
