New Bedford Voters Face Machine Jams Again on Election Day

NEW BEDFORD (WBSM) — Another New Bedford election, another voting machine jam.

What Happened Today at the Polls

In what has become a common occurrence in city elections, voting machines experienced what are being described as “minor jams” in at least two precincts this morning. Callers into WBSM reported jams in Ward 1 at Precinct D (Vibra Hospital) and Ward 3 at Precinct D (Taber Mills).

Cause of the Machine Jams: Creased Absentee Ballots

According to Assistant City Solicitor Ryan Pavao, the issue had to do with creased absentee ballots.

“At a handful of polling locations this morning, voting machines experienced minor jams when the machines failed to accept previously creased absentee ballots,” Pavao told WBSM in a statement. “The machines were cleared and returned to use within 5-10 minutes by staff. According to established procedures, voting continued during the brief delays, all ballots cast were secured, and all will be counted.”

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He also confirmed that the machines had been tested prior to today's election.

“Before every election, all voting machines are serviced and tested, including those in use at polls today,” Pavao said.

Previous Incidents of Machine Malfunctions in New Bedford

A similar incident happened on October 7 in the city’s preliminary election. Former mayoral candidate Mike Janson called into WBSM that morning to say he was the first person to vote at the Buttonwood Park Warming House, which hosts Precincts E and F in Ward 5, and that the machine was not accepting ballots due to a paper jam.

In March of 2024, during the presidential primary, WBSM callers reported multiple paper jams with ballot-taking machines at 1D (Vibra Hospital), 1B (CareOne) and 3F (Bayberry Apartments). Some of those issues turned out to be actual jams, while another was a voting machine that had not been properly plugged in running out of battery power.

READ MORE: New Bedford Precinct Starts Primary Without Republican Ballots

There were also issues with Republican ballots not being delivered at 1D until about 45 minutes after the polls opened, and later another polling location, Precinct 1F, ran out of Republican ballots at 12:30 p.m. and was without them for about an hour.

An investigation by Pavao into the issues in the 2024 presidential primary determined that “although several errors occurred during the execution of the 2024 Presidential Primary Election of Tuesday, March 5, 2024, none of the errors were intentional, substantive, or had any effect on a single vote being able to be cast successfully during the election.”

READ MORE: "Several Errors" in New Bedford Primary Election

In 2022, Ward 1’s Precinct B experienced issues with a jammed machine and voters were asked to leave their ballots on a chair to be counted later.