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Some San Fernando Valley voters think they are being wrongly prevented from casting a ballot in the upcoming gubernatorial recall election, but the county elections office said it was an equipment issue that was resolved.

At El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills, some voters say they were told the computers showed them as already having voted, even though they had not.

West Hills resident Estelle Bender, 88, said she was far from the only person who was being told incorrectly that they had already voted. In addition to friends of hers who experienced the issue and two other women outside the polling place, Bender said that inside, "the man next to me was arguing the same thing."

Bender said she filled out a provisional ballot and "left really angry." Bender added that, to her knowledge, many of those affected by this issue are self-identified Republicans, and she's suspicious.

"I'd still like to know how I voted," Bender said.


The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's office said in a statement that there were issues with the settings on devices used to check in voters prior to voting. "After troubleshooting the issue, the equipment at the locations was replaced and voting continued," a spokesman for the office said.

The spokesman noted that provisional ballots were issued and that they are a "failsafe option" to ensure that everyone's votes are counted. "Once the eligibility of the voter is verified, [the ballots] are processed and counted," the statement added.