Ballot Shortages Halt Voting for Hundreds Across Key Midterm States

Voters across several states hit a wall on Tuesday, finding themselves without paper ballots at polling places during the high-stakes 2026 midterms. Some walked away empty-handed. Officials scrambled to fix the mess, but the damage was done in key locations.

The problem flared up in Illinois, Kansas, and Maryland. In Linwood, Kansas, a closely watched Senate race saw a sharp drop in available ballots. Republicans are fighting hard to keep control of the chamber, yet election officials failed to meet basic demand. One voter told the Kansas Reflector her 18-year-old son left without voting because the line simply ran dry. She estimated another 10 to 15 people did the same.

Leavenworth County admitted the error in a press release. They ordered 1,000 ballots. The polling station received only 100. A spokesperson for the Kansas Secretary of State told Fox News Digital the situation was remedied early Tuesday morning. Voters could then cast their ballots.

Chicago faced similar headaches. ABC7 Chicago reported shortages at several sites. The Chicago Board of Elections said they are printing and delivering extra paper ballots and touch-screen machines to affected precincts. They claimed no voters were turned away. Matt Dietrich, the Public Information Officer for the Illinois State Board of Elections, told Fox News Digital that supplying additional ballots when turnout spikes is not unusual. He noted lines were forming, but that fits the general election pattern.

Maryland saw its own disruption. Brandywine Elementary School in Prince George’s County ran out of paper ballots. WJLA reported long lines and delays. Wendy Honesty-Bey, the Prince George’s County Board of Elections Administrator, told The Banner that the school initially lacked the correct ballots. Those were later fixed. An SBE spokesperson emphasized their mission to ensure voting occurs. They deployed more supplies once aware of the issue.

New York brought a different kind of technical failure. Voting machines in Westchester County are rejecting paper ballots across the county. The Board of Elections explained that a change affecting a contest in one municipality required updated election programming. That code was tested and deployed for early voting and Election Day machines in that specific area. However, machines elsewhere in the county kept using the original programming. They could not recognize or accept the new ballots.