Patchogue Residents Adjusting To New Voting Method

As voters across Patchogue cast their ballots for the first time using a new electronic system, one machine at the Oregon Middle School polling station broke and residents were required to utilize another machine designed to be used by those with disabilities.

Tuesday's primaries are the first to feature the new electronic ballot system on Long Island. The voting system involves marking selected candidates on a paper ballot that is fed into a machine by the voter to scan and store the votes. If a ballot is incorrectly filled out, the machine will reject the ballot and the voter will have to fill out another form.

This happened at least once, as a woman who voted earlier in the day reported that she misunderstood the organization of the paper ballot and as a result over-voted.

Overall, turnout at the Oregon Middle School polling station was light with approximately 175 residents voted at the location as of 5:15 p.m, election workers told Patchogue Patch. Polls in Patchogue and across New York State will be open until 9 p.m.

Watch Patchogue Patch for complete primary results.