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Malfunctioning voting machines prompt switch to paper ballots in southern Utah

Violet Lay waits beside her mother Susan to finish voting in a polling booth in Cincinatti on Election Day.
Violet Lay waits beside her mother Susan to finish voting in a polling booth in Cincinatti on Election Day. AP Photo/John Minchillo

Election officials say voting machine problems in southern Utah are forcing poll workers to use paper ballots, potentially affecting tens of thousands of people.

Utah Director of Elections Mark Thomas says a programming problem has affected all voting in Washington County, but so far appears it appears limited to that county.

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He says about 52,000 registered voters there have yet to cast their ballots.

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Election workers are trying to fix the computer problem and hope they can start using the voting machines later in the day.

READ MORE: Voters head to polls amid accusations of intimidation, fraud in run-up to Election Day

Thomas says officials were prepared with backup paper ballots. But he said they will need to print more if the problem persists.

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There are about 80,000 total registered voters in Washington County. Some 28,000 have already cast their ballots through early voting.

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