Voting in Lucas county, Ohio

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In Toledo, "a lot of people just walked away, saying they had to go to work," said voter Anthony Bumphis, who said he waited for more than an hour at Gesu School on Parkside Boulevard in West Toledo when it temporarily ran out of ballots.

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Throughout the city, polling places reported an assortment of problems, ranging from technical trouble with Lucas County's leased optical-scan voting machines to confusion about precinct boundaries and questions over provisional balloting.

The stress levels reached a peak by midafternoon at some stations. Several precinct judges "are so distressed they're threatening to leave," said Bernadette Noe, chairman of the Lucas County Republican Party. By midafternoon, lawsuits had been filed alleging elections misconduct.

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Technical problems also snarled the process throughout the day. Jammed or inoperable voting machines were reported throughout the city.

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http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041103/NEWS09/411030355

GOP really had its voter suppression strategy down.

Between that, and the electronic voting machines, they knew they'd take it no matter what. No wonder they didn't resort to a terra'ist alert or attack when the polls showed them so far down...

In a move that sent election officials scrambling, a Toledo federal judge ruled yesterday afternoon that Ohio voters should have been given provisional ballots if they never received requested absentee ballots.

Because the ruling didn't come until 3:01 p.m. - 4 1/2 hours before the close of polls in Ohio - attorneys in the case said it likely had limited impact.

We concur with this order, but the polls close at 7:30," said Steven Papadimos, chief of the civil division for the Lucas County prosecutor's office, minutes after the ruling. "There are going to be a lot of individuals who don't get the right to vote" because they wouldn't get the news in time.

Mr. Papadimos said he didn't know how many voters were impacted by the ruling. Bernadette Noe, chairman of the election board, said she knew of several people who had been turned away before the ruling was issued and was frustrated the decision wasn't reached before Election Day.

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http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041103/NEWS09/411030371