PITTSBURGH — A voting machine miscommunication is causing a stir at a local church.
Leaders at the church are calling for clarity as voting machines sit in the basement days after the primary.
Right now, it’s unclear when they’ll be picked up.
“The last two elections have been, um, unorganized,” Tim Hartman said.
He’s an Elder at Emmanuel Christian Church in Brighton Heights. It’s served as a polling place for decades.
Both he and the pastor tell Channel 11 there has been a lack of clarity when it comes to dealing with election equipment this year.
There was confusion at the drop-off and the pick-up.
It was supposed to be Friday morning.
“[I] sat there until 10:30 and called them and [they] said ‘Oh, we’re really sorry,’” Hartman said.
Now, it won’t be until at least next Tuesday.
“Everything is just in our Fellowship Hall downstairs.”
The pastor and Hartman say it’s more about the perception. They don’t want it to seem like election integrity is in jeopardy.
Channel 11 reached out to county officials about it. They tell us there should be no security issues.
They say thumb drives and paper ballots were removed; the machines were locked, and additional equipment and material were put in a zip-tied bag.
“There’s no problem with people tampering because the election is over. Everything is sealed and locked,” Hartman said.
Still, church officials say the whole process has been frustrating, and they want to see it fixed for November.
“It’s weird that election materials are sitting in our basement for a week. Seems a little strange,” Hartman said.
County officials also tell Channel 11 the machines are tested before every election and it’s not unusual for the process of picking them up to take a few weeks.
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