A report of votes being changed by a malfunctioning voting machine in Oxford on Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial runoff has been confirmed by Circuit Clerk Baretta Mosley.
The malfunction happened at the Oasis Church polling location in Oxford’s fourth precinct.
“As soon as the poll worker was notified, the machine was taken out of service,” Mosley said. “We then dispatched a technician, who has since gone out there and the machine has been repaired.”
She added that the voting machines were inspected by election commissioners Friday, but that a calibration issue like this is “not anything new,” and that something like a worker dropping a machine while moving it to its precinct can cause issues.
In a post from early Tuesday morning, Facebook user Sally Kate Walker shared a video in which a voter attempts to select Bill Waller Jr. for governor, but the machine responds with a vote for Tate Reeves. The voter unsuccessfully attempts to select Waller nine different times. Walker’s video has been viewed over 54,000 times.
The Mississippi Secretary of State’s office confirmed to Mississippi Today that 19 individuals voted using the defunct machine before the error was caught.
Reeves, the former Lt. Governor of Mississippi, nearly hit the 50% threshold to avoid a primary runoff in the initial GOP primary on Aug. 6. His runoff opponent, former Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller, received 33%. Robert Foster, who finished third with 18% of the vote, immediately pledged his support for Waller following the primary defeat.
The malfunction happened at the Oasis Church polling location in Oxford’s fourth precinct.
“As soon as the poll worker was notified, the machine was taken out of service,” Mosley said. “We then dispatched a technician, who has since gone out there and the machine has been repaired.”
She added that the voting machines were inspected by election commissioners Friday, but that a calibration issue like this is “not anything new,” and that something like a worker dropping a machine while moving it to its precinct can cause issues.
In a post from early Tuesday morning, Facebook user Sally Kate Walker shared a video in which a voter attempts to select Bill Waller Jr. for governor, but the machine responds with a vote for Tate Reeves. The voter unsuccessfully attempts to select Waller nine different times. Walker’s video has been viewed over 54,000 times.
The Mississippi Secretary of State’s office confirmed to Mississippi Today that 19 individuals voted using the defunct machine before the error was caught.
Reeves nearly hit the 50% threshold to avoid a primary runoff in the initial GOP primary on Aug. 6. His runoff opponent, former Mississippi Supreme Court Chief Justice Bill Waller, received 33%. Robert Foster, who finished third with 18% of the vote, immediately pledged his support for Waller following the primary defeat.
Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this article should have stated that Reeves is the current Lt. Governor, not the former Lt. Governor.
