Software Glitch Left Broward County Poll Workers Unable to Submit Some Ballots; Unknown Number of Florida Voters Turned Away Before Fix, Supervisor Says
A countywide software problem in Broward County, Florida, kept poll workers from submitting some ballots Tuesday morning. NBC News reports an unknown number of voters were turned away. The elections supervisor says it was fixed within 20 minutes and is asking anyone who left to come back before polls close at 7 p.m.
The second voting problem of Election Day to draw wide attention came in South Florida. NBC News reports that some voters in Broward County were turned away Tuesday morning after a countywide software glitch left poll workers unable to submit some ballots.
What happened. NBC News says the number of voters turned away is not known. At a news conference, Broward County Supervisor of Elections Joe Scott asked anyone who was turned away to come back and vote before polls close at 7 p.m. Scott said the problem involved a feature meant to help poll workers give voters the correct ballot after redistricting, and that it was fixed within 20 minutes, NBC News reports.
What voters saw. Local 10 in Miami reports that voters at several Broward polling places ran into electronic problems minutes after polls opened at 7 a.m. The station named Sunset Lakes Community Center in Miramar, Coconut Palm Elementary School and South Plantation High School. One voter told Local 10 that poll workers said they could not log into the registration system, and that technicians were working on it. Local 10 says officials later confirmed the problems were resolved. Voters had lined up as early as 6:15 a.m. at Sunset Lakes, the station reports.
The numbers so far. Scott said about 45,000 votes had been cast in Broward by 10 a.m. Eastern, NBC News reports. The county has more than 1.1 million registered voters. NBC News adds that some people on social media said they could not at first reach the county's online vote totals, and that the figures later appeared.
Other changes in the county. Local 10 reports that voters assigned to Precinct 2018 at Paradise Village Clubhouse were moved to Precinct T013 at Treetops Park on Southwest 100th Avenue in Davie because of flooding. Heavy rain has flooded parts of South Florida.
Why it matters. Broward has more than 1.1 million registered voters, and Florida has competitive races on the ballot today, including House races our Election Headquarters tracks. We have no reporting yet on whether the glitch changes any result, and nothing in the sources we read says it will. Any results will be unofficial until Florida certifies them, and we will report a race as called only when the Associated Press calls it.
What to do. Scott's message, per NBC News, is that anyone who was turned away should return before the 7 p.m. deadline. Voters with a problem can contact the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office.
What we could not check. We did not hear from the county supervisor's office directly, and we did not find a statement on the county's own site. We rely on NBC News for the supervisor's remarks and on Local 10 for the polling-place accounts. We do not know how many voters were turned away, how many came back, or how many polling places were affected beyond the three Local 10 named.
Sources: NBC News, "Election 2026 live updates: Voters head to the polls in a midterm battle for House and Senate control" (entry titled "Unknown number of Broward County voters turned away before glitch resolved," 10:42 a.m. ET): https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/live-blog/midterm-election-results-2026-news-trump-live-updates-rcna605763. Local 10 (WPLG), "Brief technical issues delay voting at several Broward County polling locations": https://www.local10.com/news/local/2026/11/03/technical-issues-delay-voting-at-several-broward-county-polling-locations/. Our Election Headquarters: /election/