UPDATE: Several voting machines in Lee County had problems rejecting ballots Tuesday.
The issue was with the second page of the ballot that includes all of the constitutional amendments.
Because those ballots couldn't be counted at the precinct, they were brought by police escort to be counted at the Supervisor of Elections Office in Fort Myers. We actually went to one of the precincts experiencing issues. Several voters who we spoke with in Bokeelia at Precinct 21 said they had their ballots rejected.
One man said he was concerned about his ballot being counted.
“It bothers me. I mean, maybe they all have to be counted by hand now," said Ed Fulmer, who had his ballot rejected.
The Supervisor of Elections assured us they were doing everything they could to make this right.
“Nobody’s vote will be uncounted. They will be counted. Every valid vote will be counted in Lee County," said Vicki Collins, the spokeswoman for the Lee County Supervisor of Elections. "Some of the DS200’s are not able to read the second pages of the ballot, and we have instructed our poll workers to have the voters place those into the emergency bins.”
ORIGINAL STORY: The Supervisor of Elections office confirmed that its machines are having issues counting part of the ballot on Tuesday.
Which precincts are impacted are unknown at this time.
But FOX 4 does know it's happening at several of them.
The office says the second page of the ballot, which has the constitutional amendments, is not being read by the tabulators at those locations.
The supervisor says they are continuing to investigate the problem.
And we spoke with one voter who called in after experiencing issues at the polls.
"The poll worker informed me that the machines were not scanning properly, and they may reject the ballot," The voter says.
"So sure enough I put my ballot in, and it was rejected. And the girl is telling me it's happening all over the county. and it's like what, how can that be"
As the elections office continues working to investigate the problem, poll workers are instructing voters to place the second page of the ballot in the tabulator's emergency bin.
The office says they will be tabulated at the tabulation center location.
If you are still planning to head out and vote, here are some things to remember to bring with you.
You should bring sample ballots and a picture ID.
You should also check that you're going to your correct polling place.
All of this is information you can find right on our website.
