Montgomery County election results were the last in the state to be posted after November’s election, about two hours after Larry Hogan proclaimed victory in the gubernatorial race. Though the delay may have been bothersome primarily to candidates, members of the media and hardcore political junkies, County Council members on Thursday had some stern questions for Board of Elections officials about their vote-recording process. The Board of Elections blamed old technology — analog modems — for the long wait. Of the county’s 227 polling places on Nov. 4, 192 had an analog telephone line and modem card with which to transmit results back to the Board of Education’s headquarters in Gaithersburg.
On election night, only 74 polling places did. The Board of Elections cited connection problems (the Board has only 32 telephone lines to accept results) as reason for why many precinct captains opted to drive the results up to Gaithersburg instead.
That drive added time to the vote recording process. There was also a line of cars trying to get into the Board of Elections parking lot that spilled out onto Route 355.
Full Article: Election Officials Blame Old Technology For Long Results Wait | BethesdaNow.