As polling machine issues in Westchester County, New York, stand to affect as many as 250,000 ballots, claims of fraud have already started surging on social media.
It's just the beginning of the voter fraud narrative to come, said Joe Bonilla, a New York-based strategist who works mostly with Democrats, but also for Republicans and Independents.
"If you're [Republican incumbent Congressman] Mike Lawler, you are looking at this as, this is a county that's critical if he has a path to victory, and now we have this situation, which is beyond any candidate's control," said Bonilla, a co-founder of creative strategy firm Relentless Awareness.
"If you're Lawler, you're going to definitely be preaching at the choir of voter fraud, basically, at this point."
The county is part of the highly competitive race in New York's 17th Congressional District between Lawler and Democrat Cait Conley, a veteran and national security expert.
"It's challenging, especially if, let's say, you're Cait Conley or you're Mike Lawler, and given every single vote is going to count — it's the most hotly contested House race in the country — this could not be more of a nightmare scenario for either camp," Bonilla said.
The Cook Political Report changed its rating for the race from leans Republican to a toss-up. Prediction markets give each candidate a 50 percent chance of winning. Some polls, like those out of Emerson College, gave a slight edge to Conley.
Conservative commentators like Laura Loomer already started accusing Democrats of cheating, claims which Lawler has dismissed thus far.
The voting machine issue began Tuesday morning when ballots were rejected at polling places due to reported programming issues, which Bonilla called "a complete utter failure" after talking with people on the ground in the county.
"For this to happen, it's really like who was asleep at the wheel?" Bonilla said.
The candidates have agreed to have paper ballots in emergency orange bags driven via police escort for processing at the Westchester County Board of Elections, ABC reported.
Alberto Ramos, CEO of Veterans for All Voters, said electronic ballots, typically only deployed in some states for overseas military personnel, could've been used in this situation in Westchester County — as they're currently being used on an emergency basis in San Juan County, Utah, due to severe flooding.
Westchester is home to a significant number of veterans as well, he said.
"Especially in a county like this that has a fairly large veteran population, the majority of those veterans are elderly, and veterans are more likely to be rural. They're more likely to be disabled than our civilian counterparts, and so anything that we can do to lower the barriers that are in place to engage in our democracy are things that we want to to see happen for veterans, of course, but for every American," Ramos said.
"I hope that disabled folks, rural folks, veterans, and the like are not discouraged because of long lines or anything else from participating in our democracy. I am encouraged by the messages that I've seen coming out of the election officials there, and appreciative of their selfless service."
Bonilla said voters should be prepared to not see election results Tuesday night for New York's 17th Congressional District or even the gubernatorial race between incumbent Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican Bruce Blakemen, executive of Nassau County, New York.
"If folks are saying, 'Oh, we're going to find out tonight,' buckle up. It's going to be at least a few weeks," Bonilla said.
Lawler and Conley's campaigns did not immediately respond to Raw Story's request for comment.
