PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It was human error, not misconduct, that led to all independent or third-party voters being left off the poll books in Chester County on Election Day last November. That's according to a law firm that looked into what happened.
Investigator Sigmund Fleck said someone incorrectly selected an option to include "only voters from the major parties" on the system that generates poll books.
“Bottom line is this appears to be a human error in clicking the wrong box for a general election. The box that was checked should only be used during a primary,” he said.
Chester County's Chief Experience Officer, Megan Moser, is recommending increased safeguards for that poll book system, as well as more training, better verification, and a contingency plan in case of trouble in the future.
Nearly one-fifth of the voters in the county were affected. Those whose names did not appear in poll books could submit provisional ballots.
Nearly 13,000 provisional ballots had to be cast in Chester County on Nov. 4. Polls in the county stayed open two extra hours. There were 385,856 total registered voters in the county on Election Day.