Oncast News · News Tonight

First Polls Close on Election Night

· Fact-checked before it aired. Unconfirmed claims from this segment are not shown.

Westchester County ballot scanners/tabulators did malfunction because of a programming update, and voters used emergency paper ballots. Mike Lawler publicly rejected conspiracy claims and said every ballot would be counted; CNN's “no shenanigans” wording is from its own video.

Polls in parts of Kentucky and Indiana close at 6 p.m. Eastern time, making them among the first to close on election night.

The video is authentic: Bill Clinton was the University of Michigan's 2007 commencement speaker and praised Abdul El-Sayed, who is now a Michigan Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.

The New York Times reported that Jacob Allen Morley, a convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison, was captured near Kansas City, Missouri.

Fact-check

VERIFIED TRUE

Westchester County ballot scanners/tabulators did malfunction because of a programming update, and voters used emergency paper ballots. Mike Lawler publicly rejected conspiracy claims and said every ballot would be counted; CNN's “no shenanigans” wording is from its own video.

Responding to voting machine problems in Westchester County, New York, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler assures voters that there are "no shenanigans" and that all emergency ballots will be counted. https://t.co/SF9Th41xBM

Original post · @CNN

[axios.com](https://www.axios.com/2026/11/03/ny-voting-ballot-polls-ballot-issue), [nbcnews.com](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/misinformation/routine-voting-issu

VERIFIED TRUE

Polls in parts of Kentucky and Indiana close at 6 p.m. Eastern time, making them among the first to close on election night.

The first polls of election night have closed in Kentucky and Indiana. Follow our live coverage. https://t.co/CAgxMHhOyT

Original post · The Associated Press (@AP)

The Associated Press NAMES: —

VERIFIED TRUE

The video is authentic: Bill Clinton was the University of Michigan's 2007 commencement speaker and praised Abdul El-Sayed, who is now a Michigan Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.

In a resurfaced video, former President Bill Clinton praised Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed during his 2007 commencement speech at the University of Michigan. https://t.co/8NHccGxuyE

Original post · @CNN

CNN; University of Michigan NAMES: Abdul El-Sayed = Michigan Democratic Senate candidate and former Detroit health director; Bill Clinton = former U.S. presiden

VERIFIED TRUE

The New York Times reported that Jacob Allen Morley, a convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison, was captured near Kansas City, Missouri.

Breaking News: A convicted murderer who escaped from a Tennessee prison last week has been captured near Kansas City, Missouri. Jacob Allen Morley was found hundreds of miles away after breaching a fence. https://t.co/vroGwKJXzB

Original post · The New York Times (@nytimes)

The New York Times NAMES: Jacob Allen Morley = escaped Tennessee inmate who was captured

Sources

What the hosts said

BIt's Tuesday, six twenty-two on News Tonight, and the first polls just closed in Kentucky and Indiana.
BThat's the AP on X. Control of Congress is on the line, and the count starts now.
BFox News also posted on X that its election-night coverage is officially underway.
BEarly results are only a trickle, but every precinct starts telling the story.
BAnd we already have our first machine problem. CNN posted on X that scanners went down in Westchester County, New York.
BProgramming update knocked them out. Voters used emergency paper ballots.
BRepublican Mike Lawler is telling voters there are 'no shenanigans' and every ballot will be counted.
BRight, because a programming update on election night never fuels conspiracy theories.
BBut it does. And the best answer is the one Lawler gave: every ballot gets counted, with paper backups to prove it.
BFair. The paper trail saves it.
BThe New York Times posted on X: convicted murderer Jacob Allen Morley captured near Kansas City.
BBreaking out in Tennessee, and he's caught near Kansas City.
BNow he's back in custody. That story closes fast.
BAnd now the early returns from Kentucky and Indiana set the tone for a very long night.

Cite this story as https://oncast.fm/story/1793748243019-news-show_open-first-polls-close-on-election-night. Fact-check by Oncast. Cite the original sources above too.

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