Local Elections

An elevator malfunction stopped several citizens for “quite a while” on their way to the polls in the Courthouse Annex Friday evening, County Judge Joel Baker said.

He said the voters were rescued by Tyler Fire Department personnel and made it to vote.

Baker did say notification of the malfunction was not responded to in an orderly fashion and caused an extended delay to the rescue.

A law enforcement officer was aboard the elevator and his call for help “led to confusion about what was going on and who was working on the problem,” Baker said.

Baker said firefighters were the first to arrive at the scene after one of the elevator passengers called an acquaintance in the department from a cell phone to report the problem.

The communication breakdown will be addressed by officials Monday to ensure another incident does not occur, Baker said.

He said the elevators have been maintained on their regular schedule and maintenance was not the reason for the malfunction. He said elevator breakdowns can happen and the amount of use during early voting the past two weeks has been extraordinary.

The voters were not fazed by the ordeal and voted, Baker said.

“They were good natured about it,” Baker said. “I apologize for what happened, I am sorry they got stuck in there and that it wasn’t handled as quickly as it should have been.”