Mercer County Board of Elections officials Thursday found missing ballots from at least four New Jersey precincts, according to a New Jersey Globe report.
The report noted ballots for three voting districts in Princeton and one in Robbinsville had been at the county facility since Election Day. There were between 13,000 and 15,000 uncounted mail-in ballots remaining at the county office Friday, according to a New Jersey Monitor report.
Ballots cast for Robbinsville’s races were tabulated Thursday, the report said, and Princeton’s ballots were scheduled to be counted Friday.
Mercer County Superintendent of Elections, Nathaniel Walker, pledged to continue counting ballots Friday, the Veterans Day holiday, and into the weekend.
County voters were instructed to use paper ballots to cast votes on Election Day. A Dominion optical scanner was inoperable after suffering a programming glitch, according to the Globe report. Ballots were placed in the machine’s storage bin for collection by a bipartisan team of two.
Superior Court Judge William Anklowitz signed an order Friday authorizing the county voting machines to be opened. Upon opening the machines, a few more ballots were reportedly found inside the machines. The newly found ballots were opened Friday, according to the Globe report.
New Jersey election law requires a court order be issued before election officials may open a machine within 15 days after an election.
In addition to the mail-in ballots already received, election officials will continue to accept ballots postmarked by Election Day if they are received by Monday.
Military and overseas voters ballots will also be accepted, provided they are postmarked before 8 p.m. on Election Day, according to the state’s Secretary of State.
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