Now it’s on again, says Donald Trump after reports of problems in some polling stations in the United States. It won’t affect the outcome, experts say.
The conduct of the election is followed with suspicion after two years of undocumented allegations of election fraud by Trump and his supporters.
Counting machines in Arizona that reject valid cards have caused a stir on social media. Counting machines in about a fifth of Maricopa County’s 223 polling stations have problems, but election officials don’t believe this will result in delays or votes not counted, write CNN.
That didn’t stop the case from spreading on social media. Donald Trump Jr., son of the former president, shared posts suggesting this could be a sign that the Arizona election was stolen.
Trump gets mad
Trump himself did so too, in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Record-breaking billionaire gifts: – This is how democracy dies
– Reports from Arizona that voting machines don’t work in Republican and Conservative areas. Can this really be true when a large percentage of Republicans have waited until today to vote? It is now on again. People will not tolerate it, writes Trump.
– Of course people will use it for such purposes, sighs another election official, Stephen Richer.
But in the ranks in Arizona, there are many who support Trump’s claims.
– It happens again, says one voter who does not want to be named. Donald Newton, 82, says it’s unacceptable for such mistakes to happen.
– The machines should have been tested a long time ago, he says.
Technical difficulties
There was also a similar glitch in New Jersey, as several polling stations in the country opened later than they should because polling workers were late. Here, the rule in most states is that opening hours are then extended at the other end.
“It will be ugly”
In some places in Pennsylvania, it was reported that locals ran out of ballots and that many early voters had to be helped to correct minor formal errors such as incorrect date stamping.
– This is the kind of thing you see in all elections. There is nothing particularly worrying so far, says Susannah Goodman of the Common Cause voting rights organization.
Great participation
CNN he also writes of higher-than-expected voter turnout in Michigan.
– We hear from election workers across the state that they are pleasantly surprised by the number of people who show up to vote in person, says state administration spokesman Jake Rallow.
In several places, similar incidents occurred which led to a slight delay in the count. In Georgia, one of the crucial states for Senate elections, several voters were reported not to have received the required ballot papers.
Here’s how you follow the elections in the United States
More than 1,000 voters have been hit, but electoral authorities say they have issued ballot papers and that all votes stamped on election day will be counted.
– It does not affect the outcome of the elections
In Harris County, Texas, there were long lines, closed doors, and voting machines that didn’t work, reports the Washington Post. Nadia Hakim of election officials says there have been problems in a handful of polling stations in the county, which is the third most populous in Texas. The errors should have been corrected by noon.
According to Vote.org, there is no indication that events will affect election results.
– This can happen and electoral operators and state authorities are working hard to solve the problems and ensure that everyone can vote today. The openness around this shows the strength and resilience of our democracy, says Andrea Hailey, head of the organization.
