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Politics : Sioux Nation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mannie who wrote (151131)	11/4/2008 12:02:15 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 361700

Ohio's voting systems tested by big turnout for presidential race _______________________________________________________________ By THOMAS J. SHEERAN Associated Press Writer 7:41 AM PST, November 4, 2008 CLEVELAND (AP) - Long lines greeted voters Tuesday in Ohio, where a record 80 percent turnout is possible in a swing state that had presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama running neck and neck. Lines began forming outside polling places more than an hour before the polls opened at 6:30 a.m. A line of at least 50 people waited to cast their ballots at a polling location inside a car dealership in the Columbus suburb of Grove City. A handful of voting machines malfunctioned in Fairfield County, southeast of Columbus, and the wrong paper ballots were delivered to two precincts, said elections director Debbie Henderly. "Everybody's back to normal, now, I think," she said. "As normal as anybody can be for this day." In Westlake, an upscale suburb west of Cleveland, there appeared to be confusion among voters, some of whom were seeing for the first time the return of old-fashioned paper ballots that replaced touch-screen voting machines used for the March primary. Voters at the Church on the Rise in Westlake had a lot of questions about the paper ballots, according to Bob Mihocik, 59, who voted along with his wife, Jackie, and son, Dave, 26. The paper ballots require voters to choose a candidate by filling in an oval. After finishing, the ballot is scanned to alert the voter to disqualifying duplicate votes — like voting for both McCain and Obama. If that happens, the voter can ask for a replacement ballot. The opportunity to correct voter errors was a key reason the touch-screen voting machines were dumped in favor of traditional paper ballots, which are lengthy in Cuyahoga County and require more handling. Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, is one of 35 Ohio counties where voters cast ballots on paper. The other 53 counties use touch-screen machines. There was early evidence that poll workers would have their hands full with a big turnout. "We had a line out the door before we opened the poll," said Bud Tetzlaff, a poll worker at the Church on the Rise. He estimated there were 50 people waiting in line in the first hour of voting and it was taking people 10 minutes to 15 minutes to vote. In Columbus, the Franklin County elections board was dealing with typical early Election Day glitches, like jammed backup paper tapes on voting machines and poll workers with last-minute questions, spokesman Ben Piscitelli said. "We're taking care of things like that this morning," Piscitelli said. "But there's nothing major or systemic." Long lines were expected despite about 1.5 million people taking advantage of early voting. Court action was anticipated to keep polls open late in places like Cleveland, the seat of a county that has been plagued by past elections problems. Across the state, lawyers were standing by to contest yet-uncounted votes. Both Republican and Democratic lawyers were at the ready to file lawsuits over any perceived illegal activity. Likewise, volunteers from both campaigns were set to stand near polling locations to hear complaints, and independent advocacy groups vowed to monitor any irregularities. Four years ago, the presidential race hinged on Ohio and many activists questioned the results. Democrat John Kerry narrowly lost the state's 20 electoral votes, putting President Bush over the top in the electoral count. Bush won by about 118,000 votes out of more than 5.5 million cast in Ohio. Kerry conceded the day after the election, convinced he would not receive enough votes when provisional ballots were counted. Ohio made changes this year, including putting more voting machines in precincts that are expected to be the busiest. Franklin County has about twice as many touch-screen voting machines this year as it did in 2004. Also, officials in counties that use touch-screen machines are required to inform voters that they can use paper ballots if lines get too long. Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said voters coming in around noon on their lunch break may be unwilling to wait for more than 30 minutes. Gov. Ted Strickland has expressed confidence in the state's ability to handle a heavy turnout Tuesday, with weather forecasts calling for sunshine and high temperatures in the low 70s. -Associated Press writer Meghan Barr in Columbus contributed to this report