Voting Machine Software Error Made In Ocean Twp. School Board Race

OCEAN TOWNSHIP, NJ — A counting error was made by Monmouth County's voting software, and it may affect the outcome of a local Jersey Shore school board race.

The school board race that was incorrectly counted was the Nov. 2022 election for Ocean Twp. Board of Education.

"On Tuesday, January 17, our district received official notification from the Board of Elections regarding a tabulation error in the Election Systems Software program used in Monmouth County's voting machines," announced Ocean Township school board president Irene Gilman on Tuesday in this statement. "At this time, the Ocean Township Board of Education is working closely with the Board of Elections to resolve the situation and ensure the integrity of the November 8, 2022 election."

Some votes were double counted.

Election Systems Software is the private company hired by Monmouth County to provide their voting machine software countywide.

The error occurred when votes were uploaded from a USB flash drive, Election Systems Software Katina Granger told CNN Wednesday.

“A technician inadvertently loaded votes twice in error," she told CNN. “Typically our software blocks this from happening. Unfortunately, a human error in a July software reinstallment missed the step that would have flagged the mistake.”

Even though Election Systems Software is used by Monmouth County county-wide, Granger said this was the only race affected by the double counting.

However, State Senator Vin Gopal (D), who represents Ocean Twp. in Trenton, called on the New Jersey Attorney General and U.S. Attorney to launch an investigation into the error.

“Reversing the outcome of a race over two months after the election is completely unacceptable and creates an opening for questions about the integrity of elections in Monmouth County, and the state,” said Gopal on Wednesday.