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Polls in Berks County were ordered to stay open for an extra hour Tuesday night.

The move was made because of an issue with new electronic poll books being used countywide for the first time Tuesday that caused problems at several polling locations.

Attorneys representing the county Republican and Democratic committees earlier Tuesday filed emergency petitions in Berks County Court to keep polls across the county open until 9 p.m.

Judge James M. Lillis issued an order just before 4 p.m. granting the extension, according to Jason Ulrich, an attorney for the Berks County Democratic Committee.

Ulrich said anyone who was in line as of 8 p.m. would be allowed to cast a traditional vote. Anyone who arrived at a polling location between 8 and 9 p.m. would be allowed to cast a provisional ballot.

“We thank the Republican committee for working with us on this issue to address voters’ rights,” Ulrich said.

The request to extend voting hours was made because of technical problems that arose Tuesday morning with new electronic poll books the county was implementing for the first time. After learning of the problem, election officials rushed back-up, paper poll books to each polling location in the county.

Kevin Boughter, chairman of the Berks County Democratic Committee, said the poll book issue caused delays at some polls and forced some voters to walk away without casting a ballot.

“It’s been a total disaster at every poll that I’ve received word from,” he said.

Boughter said he had heard from committee people from at least 25 precincts where there had been problems with the poll books.

Clay Breece, Berks County Republican Committee chairman, said he was disappointed the extension was needed and that the problems with the poll books prove that the county shouldn’t be using them.

“This electronic poll book foul-up is exhibit A on why we don’t need them,” he said. “We need to go back to the basics, and we need to get rid of these electronic systems. We need accurate voter integrity.”

Stephanie Weaver, public relations officer for the county, declined comment on the petition. The county issued a press release about 4:45 p.m. about extending voting to 9 p.m.

The release said the county’s two drop boxes for mail ballots would still close at 8 p.m. as scheduled.

Berks County officials said Tuesday morning that they were aware of the issue impacting the new electronic poll books and that paper poll books were being distributed throughout the county.

Weaver said the paper poll books were distributed by so-called rovers, election workers who travel back and forth between several polling locations. The rovers had the paper poll books in their vehicles, a move done in case there was an issue with the electronic books.

Weaver said the elections office was notified of the problem shortly after polls opened Tuesday at 7 a.m. Elections officials contacted the judge of elections at each polling location and told them paper books would be delivered.

Weaver said not every electronic poll book suffered issues, but the decision was made to switch to paper books at all precincts in order to maintain continuity across the county.

The judges of elections were told to keep the polls open and not let the poll book issue impact voting in any way, Weaver said. It was unclear when all the paper books were delivered.

This is the first election that all county precincts were to use the electronic poll books.

A release from the county was not more specific about the issue or the extent of the problem.

Officials said details behind the issue will be reviewed after election day and a full explanation will be provided at that time.

The electronic poll books are updated in real time on a closed system and resemble a tablet computer. They are loaded with the full list of registered voters for a particular precinct and were to replace the paper rosters of registered voters at each precinct.

The commissioners bought 440 electronic poll books last year for $1.1 million from Election Systems & Software. The devices have been certified by state election officials, but counties were encouraged to try them on a pilot basis before widespread implementation.

The county tested the books at five voting locations last fall.

Because today was the first time the books will be used at all precincts, the election board voted in April to have the printed poll books available for each precinct as a last resort.

State Rep. Manny Guzman said the situation with the poll books was completely unacceptable.

“These poll books were not ready for prime time,” he said. “It makes me question the preparedness of the county when something like this happens.”

The Reading Democrat experienced issues with the poll books firsthand when he attempted to vote about 7:30 a.m. at his precinct. He said he didn’t get to cast his ballot until about 8:40 a.m. after declining an offer to fill out a provisional ballot.

“People don’t have time to throw away on dealing with the failures of the county election officials who didn’t make sure the poll workers knew how to operate the poll books,” he said. “The idea we might have people walk away from their right to be heard is unacceptable. It’s voter suppression through incompetence at the top.”

Guzman stressed the poll workers at his precinct did everything they could to solve the problem and noted their dedication and professionalism was great. He said the fault lies with an apparent lack of training they received.

“These people were hung out to dry, and the voters and democracy are suffering,” he said.

Guzman said he plans to call for an investigation into the matter to ensure the county is ready for November’s general election.

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