Bridgeport, CT polls open 'til 10pm after ballot shortage (21k ballots for a city of 130k)

Selected polls to remain open until 10 in Bridgeport


(11/02/10) BRIDGEPORT - Selected polling places in Bridgeport will remain open until 10 p.m. tonight due to ballot shortages in the city.
Polling places with extended hours are Park City, Longfellow, Beardsley, Read, Central, Winthrup, Hallen, Hooker, Blackrock, JFK, Blackham, and City Hall.

The Secretary of the State's office tells News 12 Connecticut they told officials at all affected locations to follow protocol, which is to photocopy ballots, seal them, and then count them by hand.

http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=265491&position=1&news_type=news

Bridgeport voting extended to 10 p.m. because of ballot shortage
Staff Reports
Published: 08:49 p.m., Tuesday, November 2, 2010

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The lines were caused by a shortage of ballots ordered by the Bridgeport Registrar of Voters. Mayor Bill Finch said only 21,000 ballots were ordered for Tuesday's election -- far short of the 67,876 registered voters in Bridgeport. "I'm very concerned about that," said the mayor. "We are going to investigate how this happened."

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The shortage led to hundreds of voters waiting in line at polling stations. Bridgeport officials had asked the secretary of the state to extend voting hours to 10 p.m. -- two hours later than the usual time. Finch said the extra time is needed to allow people more time to cast ballots.

Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz said voting was extended "because of the grave potential for people to be disenfranchised in Bridgeport." She added, "we are very thankful that the judge has taken this extraordinary measure to protect the civil rights of voters in Bridgeport.

Bysiewicz said she ordered Xerox copies of ballots "We didn't want any voters to be turned away. Unfortunately, Bridgeport couldn't copy enough of them."

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http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Bridgeport-voting-extended-to-10-p-m-because-of-787274.php