‘Unacceptable!’ NJ polling place problems left voters waiting until 2 a.m.

✔️ Voters waited in line for over 3 hours at some locations and voted until 2 a.m.

✔️ The county had a 59% turnout for Election Day

✔️ Burlington County Commissioners vowed action to make sure there is no repeat

The last vote was cast in Burlington County at 2 a.m. following Tuesday’s voting debacle as voting issues snowballed into long lines.

After complaints about lengthy, 3-hour lines during the day at polling locations, Attorney General Matt Platkin petitioned a judge to keep the polls open for an extra hour. County election officials promised that everyone in line at 9 p.m. would be able to vote, which took another five hours.

In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon the county commissioners called what happened "unacceptable" and promised to "take whatever action is needed to ensure that the situation does not repeat itself in future elections, regardless of the turnout."

"Voters deserve answers, and the Burlington County Commissioners support the bipartisan call by the chairs of both major political parties for a top-to-bottom review of election procedures to identify the causes of the excessive wait times and improvements to ensure that the situation is not repeated," the commissioners said.

The commissioners said the number of machines at a polling location was based on recommendations from the 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," the commissioners said.

ALSO READ: Shocking results for Harris in NJ: 7 counties flip for Trump

Problems were county-wide

The petition filed by Platkin lists how the problem started with machines that didn't work when the polls started at 6 a.m. and never improved.

The day started with all voting machines down in Cinnaminson. One location opened at 6:45 a.m. but two machines crashed. Another polling place was reported to be turning away voters after 7 a.m. after offering paper ballots to the first 30 people in line.

Machines were also reported down in Evesham, Moorestown and Palmyra at 6 a.m..

Mount Laurel machines also didn't work when polls opened and were not available until 7:15 a.m. Another technical issue at 9 a.m. caused "significant delays" for voters in six districts who vote on Walton Avenue.

Hour-long delays developed in Willingboro because only one machine was available

Three-hour waits developed in Westampton and only one machine was open in certain locations at noon.

Lines in Burlington Township were 3.5 hours long.

Officials in Easthampton refused to allow a voter who could not stand for long periods of time due to medical disabilities to move to the front of the line.

Seniors in wheelchairs waited in line for 2.5 hours. Additional parking was not available for those with limited mobility and were told by police to park several blocks away. Ambulances were called twice for senior voters.

59% turnout

County spokesman David Levinsky said a large turnout of 220,356 out of 372,410 registered voters contributed to the lines.

A new system that involves casting votes on a touchscreen, printing a ballot and then scanning it was also blamed.

A voter in Mount Laurel told NJ.com that she timed each vote to take out to take up to 10 minutes to process.

Levinsky said that despite "significant training" about the new machines, it's clear there was a "adjustment period" for voters and poll workers.

"This will become less of an issue in future elections, but we expect the county elections offices review will identify ways to further improve efficiencies," Levinsky said.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom