Berks County may ask people to vote again in two precincts

Associated Press    18 May 2005

READING, Pa. - Election officials in Berks County announced Wednesday that everyone who voted in two Reading precincts - nearly 200 people - may be asked to vote again because not all votes were recorded.

Chris Winters, the county's deputy director of elections, said 72 of the nearly 200 votes cast were not recorded by the county's computer system.

Election staff apparently used a training cartridge instead of an actual election cartridge to record the votes, Winters said. A training cartridge is not designed to retain information once the computer system is shut down, he said.

Officials said the lost votes could affect at least two races for Reading City Council and school Board seats.

County election officials plan to meet with state officials to decide whether to ask voters in the precincts to vote again, and when that might be done. The election must be certified by June 6.