Poll workers from Des Moines Precinct 13 retrieve ballots that were stuck in the ballot tabulator on November 5, 2024. (Photo by Jim Obradovich for Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Voters arriving in Des Moines Districts 12 and 13 after the morning rush hour encountered a long line stretching around the gym at First Church of the Open Bible in Beaverdale.
However, people were not waiting to vote. The line started after people marked their ballots and waited to slide them into the voting table. At around 9:30 am the line was about 30 minutes long. Previously, some voters said they had waited an hour.
Precinct Chairman Matthew Peirce said some ballots were cut about an inch and a half too wide to easily slide into the machine. He said the problem was discovered shortly after the polls opened, when the third round of voting failed to cooperate. A technician came by to check the machine. “The machine works fine – the ballot is too wide,” he said.
Poll workers were waiting at the machine to help, but many ballots required multiple attempts. Some had to go back and fill out a new ballot, even though their ballot wouldn’t cooperate. It’s like trying to put a dollar bill in a vending machine, Peirce said.
This story is developing and may be updated.
