FREEHOLD, NJ – A software patch omission in Monmouth County’s election systems led to double counting of votes in four municipalities during the November 2022 General Election.
The voting equipment vendor for Monmouth County, ES&S, failed to implement a critical software patch designed to prevent double counting of ballots.
In July 2022, county officials sought help from ES&S to resolve network connectivity issues. A Customer Relations Manager from the company uninstalled and reinstalled election software on Monmouth County’s server but did not reinstall a software patch—referred to as an “Engineering Change Order” (ECO)—to prevent the duplication of ballot data.
The absence of this ECO led to double counting when county personnel loaded flash drives containing ballot images into election workstations. Had the ECO been in place, the duplication would have been prevented. Reports generated by the election software indicated the error, but the issue went unnoticed until after the county had certified the election.
This oversight resulted in the wrong candidate being temporarily declared the winner for a seat on the Ocean Township Board of Education. A recount was conducted in February, and the correct candidate has now taken office. There was no evidence of fraudulent activity or willful misconduct by any parties involved, including Monmouth County election officials and ES&S employees.
County officials and voting equipment vendors have emphasized the importance of generating and reviewing reports to detect any tabulation errors for future elections.