Officials are reviewing Burlington County's voting procedures after hours of lines on Election Day

BURLINGTON COUNTY, New Jersey (WPVI) — Burlington County officials will review election night procedures and staffing amid bipartisan calls for an investigation after voters waited in line for hours at the polls on Tuesday.

The lines were so long that a judge extended voting hours across the county to 9 p.m.

Burlington County commissioners released a statement Wednesday afternoon saying the process and number of machines used will be investigated, calling long lines and wait times “unacceptable.”

Voters in Burlington County face long lines after a technical glitch

One of the races voters cast their ballots for was the U.S. Senate Democratic Representative Andy Kim won a decisive victory about Republican Curtis Bashaw.

“I want to make sure that we address the high costs right now that so many families are suffering from. I can’t tell you how many parents are saying that, it just feels like it’s hard for them to breathe with all the worry about what comes next for their children,” Kim said Tuesday evening.

While the celebration was underway, some voters were still waiting to cast their ballots in Burlington County.

Action News spoke to voters waiting in line after midnight in Florence, New Jersey.

“I’ve been here for five hours, I’m so tired right now, let’s see,” said resident Clark Boyd.

The province used new voting machines, a system they say is more secure.

Local officials held outreach events before Election Day, where the public could test out the new machines, which require voters to fill out their ballot on a screen, print it and then insert it into another device.

The extremely high turnout and some technical problems extended the process.

“One machine works pretty much all the time. There are two in there, one just ran out of ink when I was about to cast my vote so we had to wait an extra 25 to 30 minutes,” said Warren voter from Florence. DuBell.

The province did report connectivity issues early in the morning, but said those issues were resolved fairly quickly.

Among those standing in an hours-long line was Tina Zappile, head of the William J. Hughes Public Policy Center at Stockton University.

“You have a printed piece of paper,” Zappile said. “Something you didn’t have before.”

She said people she spoke to in line generally liked the new system, but not how long it lasted.

“We used to walk in, press a few buttons, press the button on the same panel and we were done. More secure elections and new voting machines with multiple processes will therefore take longer,” Zappile said.

County officials released a statement on the matter, which read in part:

“The number of machines deployed at each voting location was based on recommendations from the county’s voting machine vendor and input from the bipartisan board of elections and county clerks. If additional machines or other changes are needed to ensure smoother elections, the province is committed to making those improvements.”