US Midterm Elections Begin Sequentially... Some Locations Change Polling Places Due to Voting Machine Glitches

Voting for the US midterm elections, which will determine the balance of power in the US Congress, began sequentially across the United States on the morning of the 3rd (local time).

Following Vermont in the US Eastern time zone, which opened its polls first at 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time, other states also began voting between 6:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m.

Voting will close first in Kentucky and Indiana at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Other states will also close their polls depending on time zones and state-by-state election schedules, with vote counting beginning immediately afterward.

The outlines of each candidate's victory or defeat are expected to begin emerging after 8:00 p.m. for the eastern regions, and accurate results are expected to be ascertained no earlier than late at night.

Today's election is proceeding generally smoothly without major incidents or accidents.

However, glitches in voting machines were found in some areas, and polling places were changed due to severe weather in some south-central states.

According to The New York Times (NYT), some voting machines in Westchester County, New York, experienced issues failing to recognize ballots.

As a result, voters were instructed to place their ballots in separate envelopes to submit them instead of inserting them into the voting machines.

The NYT reported, "Minor voting machine malfunctions occur in virtually every election and are usually resolved without major issues."

In addition, CNN reported that the ballot scanning system malfunctioned at a polling place in Broward County, Florida, halting voting for about 20 minutes after polls opened.

The issue was resolved after switching the computer system to manual operation, and there are currently no plans to extend voting hours in that county.

While the weather in the eastern and western parts of the US today is generally sunny, torrential rain-induced floods and tornadoes swept through some south-central states and Florida, disrupting voting.

At least 18 polling places were changed in places such as Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas, and 21 polling places were relocated due to flooding in Florida as well.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.