From Deseret News archives:
Super Tuesday voters find machine hiccups and delays, but voting goes smoothly
A record turnout was expected as an unprecedented 24 states held primaries and caucuses to narrow the field for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominee.
In the blue-collar Connecticut town of Manchester, just south of Hartford, turnout surged to nearly 70 percent, forcing election officials to photocopy 3,000 ballots. Asked if he was surprised, registrar Frank Maffe Jr. replied, "Astounds me is more like it. It's amazing."
There were long lines in Minnesota, Georgia, Tennessee and Kansas. In Johnson County, the largest in Kansas, Democratic caucuses reported delays due to long lines and the relocation of one caucus because of overwhelming turnout.
There were similar crowds in Minnesota, where Democrats and Republicans waited in jammed hallways to cast caucus votes. Party officials said sites would stay open to accommodate every one in line as of 8 p.m., the cutoff time.
Long lines also affected Illinois, but Cook County Clerk David Orr said there were only minor problems in a handful of precincts. "We don't think we lost any voters," he said.
Some votes were apparently lost, however, when about 20 folks at a Chicago precinct were given styluses designed for touch-screen machines instead of ink pens. When voters complained the devices made no marks on their paper ballots, a ballot judge told them the markers were full of invisible ink.
"After 20 people experienced the same problem, somebody said 'Wait, we've got 20 ballots where nobody's voted for anything,"' said Board of Elections spokesman Jim Allen. Officials were trying to contact the voters; Allen said both the voters and the judge believed the invisible ink theory.
Another oddity occurred in Florida, where voters excited by Super Tuesday tried to cast ballots. Election officials reported fielding hundreds of calls from confused people who apparently forgot or were unaware that Florida's primary was held last week.
Voters in Georgia, who are now required to present photo identification, were faced with lines of up to 90 minutes long. Poll workers were bogged down comparing IDs against computerized registration records.
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