Long lines, glitches galore as America votes

Washington : Long lines and glitches greeted voters at several places from Florida to Virginia as technologically advanced America began voting Tuesday to choose between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney.

In scenes rarely witnessed back home in India, voters waited hours on end as lines stretched out the door of polling sites in Central Florida Tuesday, according to Orlando Sentinel.

Long lines and some glitches were also reported at precincts in Virginia with power breakdowns briefly disrupting voting in at least three polling places in Eastern Henrico,

In Spotsylvania, CBS quoted an election official as saying one precinct had machines available only for one of two congressional districts.

In the Grayson County a poll worker made a mistake setting up voting machines at one precinct. Malfunctioning ballot counting machines were reported at a polling place in Newport.

Lines formed at polling places across Indiana too where a computer-programming error caused delays as long as 30 minutes at some polling places in Hamilton County.

An election official told Fox59 that blue start cards that are used to activate voting machines failed to work. Those cards are normally reset between elections, but this time they were reset for a demo machine, not a machine in the programming database.

Election Day turnout was heavy Tuesday in several storm-ravaged areas in New York and New Jersey with particularly long lines in Point Pleasant where many displaced had to cast their ballots due to damage in their hometowns.

Many there still have no power eight days after Sandy pummelled the shore.

Authorities in New York and New Jersey were set to drive some displaced voters to their polling sites and direct others to cast ballots elsewhere

New Jersey is also allowing displaced New Jersey residents to vote through email and fax.

But under pressure from voting rights advocates, officials said those voters would have to submit a paper ballot along with the electronic filing as military personnel and residents living overseas are required to do.

IANS/Photo : AFP