Ballots in Westchester County to be counted after scanner issue on Election Day

The election is over, but workers will still be counting ballots after scanners were unable to accept votes at polling places across Westchester County.

The Board of Elections will begin counting what are now considered emergency ballots at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Those are the votes that couldn't be scanned Tuesday due to a printing issue with the ballots. Instead, voters were told to fill out the ballots and place them in secured bags.

Overnight, the ballots were taken to a Board of Elections facility under police supervision. Officials said they will remain under police protection until counting begins. 

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said the issue will be looked into and there will be accountability.

"We're going to convene a bipartisan team to conduct a thorough review of the decisions and failures that led to this debacle and determine where accountability lies and ensure that this never happens again," he said.

Despite the unusual process, voters said they felt confident their ballots were being handled properly.

The instructions were clear. I just follow the instructions, get authenticated, vote and place it in a sealed bag," said Elmsford voter Cathy Ronan.

"Every vote is going to be counted. I think I need to say that three times. Every vote will be counted, every vote will be counted. It's being resolved in a bipartisan way; it's supposed to. The backup plan is already in place," said Gov. Kathy Hochul.