Voting machines break down during election
BY DAN NEWMAN
Staff Writer

HAZLET - When the polls opened for last Tuesday's township school board election at 2 p.m., local resident Rachel Brock wanted to be among the first to vote.

"I had things to do later that day, and so I just wanted to vote and get it done," Brock said. "There were also people that had to go to work in the evening, and so I was not the only one that day."

What started out as Brock, and others, merely wanting to make their voices heard in a quick and efficient manner, turned into a time-consuming event due to a voting machine problem at the James J. Cullen Center on Union Avenue, resulting in some people not being able to vote.

According to Monmouth County Superintendent of Elections John Bradshaw, said his office received a call around 2:20 p.m., stating that there was a problem with one of the mechanical voting machines.

"At that time, we sent a mechanic out to assess the problem," Bradshaw said. "It ended up being a paper jam in the machine, and it was promptly fixed."

While the whole delay lasted just an hour, it did cause some frayed nerves along the way.

"I really didn't have time to stand around all day. But at the same time, this is the future of our kids at stake here, and so I thought it was important to vote," said Brock, who ended up returning to the Cullen Center just before 5 p.m. to cast her vote.

Fellow voter Mark Allen expressed similar feelings.

"I think a lot of people had no idea what was occurring with the whole process," Allen said. "There were about 30 people here and they were all very upset with what had happened. Our taxes are going through the roof, and nobody had any idea what to do."

Bradshaw said that a paper jam is a rarity and that the issue will be avoided in the future when new electronic machines are brought in, starting with the June primary.

He also wanted to comment on various rumors that were circulating, including that votes that had already been cast before the jam would be null and void, and that a special election would have to take place at a later date because of the problem.

"When something like this happens, people tend to go into panic mode," Bradshaw said. "All of the things that were being said were just speculation. Everybody's vote counted before and after the incident."