That’s because the equipment that counts ballots at each precinct showed unexpected problems during a routine pre-election test.
 
Brad Buyse with the Sacramento County Elections Department says neither the elections staff nor the equipment’s vendor could figure out what was wrong.
 
Buyse: “Some of the ballots would be taken in one of the scanners, and another scanner it wouldn’t take; then we’d move another ballot into it and it would take it so there was no rhyme or reason.” 
 
So instead of counting the votes at each precinct, Sacramento County will have to bring all the ballots back to the main elections office and count them there.  San Francisco and San Diego Counties are also doing central counts.
 
Buyse says the problem will “absolutely” be corrected by the next election in June.  That’s the first ballot this year with local races.