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Watauga Elections Board To Re-Process Ballots After Voting Machine Malfunction

By Jesse Wood

The Watauga County Board of Elections is holding a special meeting on Sunday, Nov. 6 at noon to re-process ballots from the early voting site at the Watauga County Administration Building after a voting machine malfunctioned, according to Watauga County Board of Elections Director Matt Snyder.

After speaking with the Watauga County Board of Elections members, State Board of Elections and Printelect, supplier of elections products and services, Snyder said the decision to re-process the ballots inserted into the malfunctioning machine was made. The Watauga County Administration Building, which has been open the entire early-voting period,  is one of six one-stop sites in Watauga.

On Saturday at the Watauga County Board of Elections office, Snyder said that he and Democrat Member Stella Anderson will re-orient the ballots beginning at about 11 a.m. in preparation for Sunday’s re-processing. Snyder confirmed that the ballots will be sealed in plastic bags and placed in a fireproof safe in between Saturday and Sunday.

Snyder, who happens to be a former Watauga GOP chair, said that the two other elections board members, Bill Aceto and Nancy Owen, who are Republicans, will not be present because that would constitute a quorum and a notice for a special meeting.

Nearly 8,000 ballots will be re-processed.

See the incident reports regarding the malfunction that were sent to the State Board of Elections office below. Click to enlarge.

Early Voting ends Saturday at 1 p.m. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.

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