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Lakewood polling location runs out of ballots, forcing over 100 voters to wait as polls neared close

The location only had 1,800 pre-printed paper ballots for the 1,908 voters who showed up. More were printed and all those in line still voted.

LAKEWOOD, Ohio — More than 100 voters had to wait while new ballots were printed after a Lakewood polling location ran out of ballots during Tuesday's elections.

A poll worker at Roosevelt Elementary School in Lakewood shared the issue with 3News as polling locations in Ohio were closing down for the day.

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The location only had 1,800 pre-printed paper ballots for the 1,908 voters who showed up. The poll worker said no voters were turned away, and they were able to print blank ballots to get their votes cast. 

At one point, workers started a list to take down names, phone numbers, and addresses to document the issue just in case. Roughly 60 people were on that list, including one voter who wanted to remain anonymous but shared their concerns about the problem. 

She told WKYC a poll worker called her back at 7:28 p.m., at which point she was able to get back to the location to vote. 

"It was very frustrating for me because Issue 1 is very important to me, the outcome, as a woman," she told 3News' Bri Buckley, referencing the constitutional amendment regarding abortion rights. "I also believe that voting stations should have ballots for every single voter, regardless of if they expect them or not."

3News reached out to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections in light of the incident. A spokesperson told us that "they don't run out of ballots" and while "on demand printing may cause delays, they do not turn away any voter."

While polls in Ohio closed at 7:30 p.m., state law allows everyone in line before that time still be permitted to vote, meaning those who stayed at the school still got to go to the polls even "after hours."

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