Government

Officials: Voting Machines Malfunction, Goose Creek Election Results to be Delayed

by Nikki Gaskins Campbell
Pictured: People stand in line to vote Tuesday in the Goose Creek general election.

GOOSE CREEK, S.C.–Some hiccups at the polls haven’t stopped Goose Creek voters from turning out in large numbers to cast their ballots.

Lines have consistently stretched outside the Marguerite H. Brown Municipal Center on  N. Goose Creek Blvd. on Tuesday.

According to Berkeley County Voter Registration & Elections Director Adam Hammons, turnout has been described as good.

Lines continuously stretched outside the polling center.

“As of 5 p.m., we’ve had over 2,500 people. We expected about 1,000 or so,”  stated Hammons.

Not long after the polls opened, Hammons says there were some technical issues with some of the voting machines.

[PRIOR STORY: Voters Head to the Polls in Goose Creek General Election]

“The machines would open but created an error that would not allow any votes to be cast. This kept many voters from casting ballots on the machines,” explained Hammons.

According to election officials, they switched to a paper backup that worked fine, resulting in no voters having to be turned away.

Voters wait patiently in line to cast their ballot at the Marguerite H. Brown Municipal Center.

Paper ballots were used until about 3 p.m. The state election commission came in earlier with new hardware, allowing election officials to get the machines back up and running.

“They have been running smoothly since then. This will cause a delay in results tonight as we have to read in all the paper ballots which we will do here in Goose Creek,” explained Hammons.
Nikki Gaskins Campbell
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