Paper ballot shortages disrupt US midterm Election Day in several states, some voters leave without voting

On Election Day Tuesday in the US midterm elections, voters in several states faced paper ballot shortages. Some voters left polling places without ballots, while election officials scrambled to manage the disruptions.

Ballot shortages were reported at polling locations in Illinois, Kansas and Maryland, as voters went to the polls on Tuesday for the high-stakes 2026 midterm elections.

In Linwood, Kansas, where voters were casting ballots in a closely watched Senate race as Republicans fight to maintain control of the chamber, a ballot shortage forced some voters to leave their polling place without casting a ballot, after election officials failed to provide enough ballots to meet demand.

One voter told the Kansas Reflector that her 18-year-old son left without voting after officials ran out of paper ballots. She said she saw another 10 to 15 people leave without casting ballots.

Leavenworth County said in a press release that the ballot shortage occurred due to an error in the number of ballots ordered. The release said the shortage was discovered early and efforts to correct the mistake began immediately. Recognising the importance of ensuring every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot, the county sincerely apologised for the mistake and any inconvenience or concern it caused.

A spokesperson for the Kansas Secretary of State's communications office told Fox News Digital that the number of ballots needed was 1,000, while the polling station received only 100. The situation was remedied early in the morning and voters were able to vote.

In Chicago, voters encountered ballot shortages at several polling locations, prompting election officials to deliver additional ballots and direct voters to alternative voting centres, according to ABC7 Chicago.

The Chicago Board of Elections told the outlet that for several precincts the Board was printing and delivering extra paper ballots, and possibly extra touch-screen voting machines. As far as they knew, no voters had been turned away or unable to vote.

Illinois State Board of Elections public information officer Matt Dietrich told Fox News Digital that it is not unusual for an election authority to have to supply additional ballots to a polling place if turnout is higher than anticipated. He added that they had heard from voters that there were lines at some Chicago polling places, but that was not out of the ordinary in a general election.

In Brandywine, Maryland, voters faced long lines and delays on Tuesday after Brandywine Elementary School, a polling location in Prince George's County, ran out of paper ballots, according to local outlet WJLA.

Prince George's County Board of Elections administrator Wendy Honesty-Bey told local outlet The Banner that the school did not have correct ballots, which were later corrected. A State Board of Elections spokesperson told Fox News Digital that once they became aware of the situation, more ballots and supplies were deployed to the polling place, and that, as after every election, they would conduct a lessons-learned review.

Meanwhile, voting machines in Westchester County, New York, were rejecting paper ballots at polling locations throughout the county. The county's Board of Elections said in a statement that a change affecting a contest in one municipality required updated election programming, which was tested and deployed for early voting and for Election Day machines in that municipality. However, Election Day machines elsewhere in the county continued to use the original programming and therefore could not recognise and accept the ballots being used for Election Day.