NJ county extends voting hours after outrageously long lines

✔️ Voters report waits of over 3 hours to vote in Burlington County

✔️ A judge ordered polls to remain open until 9 p.m.

✔️ Anyone in line at that time will get to vote

A combination of new machines and a large turnout is being blamed for long lines of voters in Burlington County.

New Jersey 101.5 listeners reported waits of over three hours in some voting locations with only one or two machines appearing to be available. Some voters left thinking they would not be able to vote. A New Jersey Superior Court judge ordered all county voting locations to stay open until 9 p.m.

The application to extend voting hours was filed by Attorney General Matt Platkin. It allows for the use of emergency paper ballots. Whether or not they are being used to accomodate more voters was not disclosed.

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Anyone in line when the polls closed will be allowed to vote, according to county spokesman David Levinsky.

Levinksky said the perception that only one or two machines were available to accept completed ballots is misleading. He said that voters actually make their selections on a touch screen. There selections are printed onto a ballot which is fed into a tabulator.

"What people see as a 'machine' may have actually multiple ballot marking devices and at least one tabulator for two or three ballot marking devices," Levinksky said. "What we call 'tabinets' are actually two or more ballot marking devices."

He compared the turnout to the record 80% of registered voters who cast ballots in 2008. This year's number could match or exceed the number. 211,000 of 278,597 voters cast ballots in 2008.

Levinsky said the new machines were used during the June primary after the previous machines has reached the end of their lifespan after 25 years.

"While there is naturally an adjustment for the new machines, we believe the long lines are largely the result of the incredible turnout. While we had some technical issues at some locations when polls opened this morning, those issues were resolved with technical support," Levinsky said.

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