Unclear Answers Surround Tech Company’s Admission of Fault in Glitch on Florida County Election Websites

An elections technology company based in Tallahassee, Florida, has taken responsibility for technical issues that prevented numerous county elections officials from promptly posting primary results on Tuesday night. The glitches did not impact voters or the counting of ballots, but questions remain unanswered as of Wednesday.

VR Systems acknowledged the problem but declined to provide details on the extent of the issue, their lack of readiness for websites that experienced slowdowns or crashes, and their plan to address the matter in preparation for the high demand during the upcoming presidential election in less than three months.

Although the problem hindered access to local election websites for result updates, it did not affect the transmission of the primary vote results to the state or the state’s ability to provide election updates. The company attributed the technical difficulties to a surge in website traffic.

Despite attempts to reach VR Systems for further information, including emails, phone calls, and an in-person visit by a reporter, the company did not offer additional insights on the glitch. This caused inconvenience for counties in Florida, including some of the largest ones, that rely on VR Systems for their election processes.

One such affected county, Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa and surrounding areas, confirmed that the glitch did not impact the reporting of unofficial results. They successfully uploaded their results to the state and shared them through various channels without any delays.

In summary, the glitch experienced by VR Systems on election night created accessibility issues for individuals checking local election websites for real-time updates on primary results. Despite this setback, the problem did not interfere with the voting process or the reporting of election outcomes to the state for counties using VR Systems.