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Long Lines and Minor Glitches for Voters on a Peaceful Election Day Voters Find Long Lines and a Range of Irritants, but No Outright Disruption
(about 1 hour later)
Voters nationwide endured long waits in line, malfunctioning voting machines, ill-informed poll workers and a litany of lesser annoyances on Tuesday with scattered reports that some voters gave up trying to cast ballots.Voters nationwide endured long waits in line, malfunctioning voting machines, ill-informed poll workers and a litany of lesser annoyances on Tuesday with scattered reports that some voters gave up trying to cast ballots.
But while there were also claims of illegal electioneering and intimidation by partisans on both sides, the fears by some of chaos at polling places, and even violence, failed to materialize in the first hours of balloting. There were claims of illegal electioneering and intimidation by partisans on both sides, but the fears of widespread chaos at polling places, and even violence, failed to materialize as polls began to close on the East Coast.
Nor did there appear to be any organized effort to disrupt the vote, either by supporters of the candidates or by hackers seeking to break into voting or registration databases.Nor did there appear to be any organized effort to disrupt the vote, either by supporters of the candidates or by hackers seeking to break into voting or registration databases.
“So far, the morning rush period is over in most states, and it’s pretty much what we’d expect to see,” David Becker, the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said at midday in New York, some six hours after voting began. “There are scattered indications of machine breakdowns that are being addressed. We’re not seeing widespread intimidation.” “It’s pretty much what we’d expect to see,” David Becker, the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said at midday in New York. “There are scattered indications of machine breakdowns that are being addressed.”
Mr. Becker was among the experts on hand at the New York headquarters of Electionland, a joint journalism project by the nonprofit group ProPublica that was tracking voting problems by monitoring social media, calls to election hotlines and reports from 400 participating news organizations.Mr. Becker was among the experts on hand at the New York headquarters of Electionland, a joint journalism project by the nonprofit group ProPublica that was tracking voting problems by monitoring social media, calls to election hotlines and reports from 400 participating news organizations.
Experts have expressed concern about intimidation at the polls in the wake of repeated insistence by the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, that the election was rigged, and his request for supporters to monitor the polls for fraud. Groups ranging from Republican loyalists to white nationalists and extremist militia had promised to answer his call. The most consequential breakdown may have occurred in Durham, N.C., a Democratic stronghold in one of the most hotly contested states, where the state Board of Elections agreed to keep eight voting sites, which were scheduled to close at 7:30 p.m., open as late as 9 p.m.
“People were worried,” said Amy Cohen, a co-founder and director of operations at the Center for Election Innovation. A computerized system was supposed to allow Durham County poll workers to quickly verify a voter’s registration and print out a voter authorization slip.
John Powers, associate counsel at the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, also described problems as episodic and scattered. “There are one-off incidents, but not necessarily organized manipulation. Poll workers will ask for IDs when they’re not supposed to. It’s standard poll-worker misinformation.” But the system failed in some precincts, and poll workers reverted to the much slower practice of looking up each voter in a physical book, and filling out each slip by hand.
Still, some problems have the potential to be consequential. In Durham, N.C., a Democratic stronghold in one of the most hotly contested states, voting-rights groups asked the State Board of Elections to extend voting hours to 9 p.m. after computer breakdowns forced poll workers to issue paper authorization slips to prospective voters. The change increased waiting times as some precincts ran out of authorization slips, the groups said. One voting precinct ran out of slips and closed for about an hour and a half, turning voters away, county officials said, and civil rights groups said that at least one other precinct had similar trouble. And in other places, the malfunction caused extremely long lines.
At North Carolina Central University, a historically black university in Durham, “It was a two-and-one-half-hour wait at 3 p.m.,” said Gunther Peck, a Duke University associate professor of history who was an organizer for President Obama’s two elections. “Only 240 people had voted as of 4 p.m., and it should have been 500. Dozens of students had to leave. It was good for Donald Trump, no doubt about that.”
The Rev. William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina N.A.A.C.P., appealed to voters to stay in lines, no matter how long. “The battle you need to fight is the battle not to get discouraged,” he said.
Experts have expressed concern about intimidation at the polls in the wake of repeated insistence by the Republican nominee, Donald J. Trump, that the election was rigged, and his request for supporters to monitor the polls for fraud.
Groups ranging from Republican loyalists to white nationalists and extremist militia had promised to answer his call.
Election Protection, a coalition of groups operating a voter hotline, said it had fielded more than 30,000 complaints by early evening in the East, disproportionately affecting minority voters and students, who had been directed to the wrong polling places, learned that their names had been purged from voter rolls, were wrongly told they had to fill out provisional ballots, were improperly asked for identification, or had to wait in very long lines.
It cited problems in several states, notably closely contested ones like Arizona, Florida, North Carolina and Ohio.
Texans reported a range of electoral problems, from the mundane to the bizarre. In Harris County, which includes Houston, incorrect instructions on official websites directed voters to polling places that actually had been moved elsewhere, said Anthony Gutierrez, the state executive director for Common Cause.
In Dallas County, one polling place remained shuttered for about two hours after it was scheduled to open, Mr. Gutierrez said, because the election worker who was responsible for opening it had died the previous night.
Voters from New Hampshire to Virginia to Missouri were complaining about long lines at their polling places. At Glen Allen Elementary School in Henrico County, Va, waiting voters formed a large semicircle outside the school, though there were no malfunctions there.Voters from New Hampshire to Virginia to Missouri were complaining about long lines at their polling places. At Glen Allen Elementary School in Henrico County, Va, waiting voters formed a large semicircle outside the school, though there were no malfunctions there.
“A friend of mine texted around 9 a.m. to say voting was taking one hour and 45 minutes,” said Daryl Watkins, a local resident. “Never before has it been that busy at a polling station.”“A friend of mine texted around 9 a.m. to say voting was taking one hour and 45 minutes,” said Daryl Watkins, a local resident. “Never before has it been that busy at a polling station.”
Asked why the turnout was so great, he said, “People are interested in change, tired of the same old Washington, but not sure if either candidate is the right choice for America.” Tram Nguyen, the co-executive director of the New Virginia Majority, a voting advocacy group, said, there were problems, but “nothing to levels that we would find alarming.”
Tram Nguyen, the co-executive director of the New Virginia Majority, a voting advocacy group, said, “There was some frustration this morning.” She added: “The main issue has been electronic poll books that were unable to verify a person’s registration. In some instances, voters were bounced back to their old polling places.” A few partisans were nevertheless alarmed.
But Ms. Nguyen said that most problems had involved long lines in several places. “Nothing to levels that we would find alarming,” she said. The conservative activist James O’Keefe, whose Project Veritas is known for undercover videos purporting to expose liberal corruption, sent followers an email titled, “It’s worse than we thought.”
A few partisans were nevertheless alarmed. The conservative activist James O’Keefe, whose Project Veritas is known for undercover videos purporting to expose liberal corruption, sent followers an email titled, “It’s worse than we thought.”
In it, he wrote, “Every staffer in our office is completely overwhelmed with reports of voter irregularity,” including “reports of busses crossing Mexican border in California going directly to polling places.”In it, he wrote, “Every staffer in our office is completely overwhelmed with reports of voter irregularity,” including “reports of busses crossing Mexican border in California going directly to polling places.”
A spokesman for the California secretary of state, which oversees election matters, said the office had received no reports of that nature.A spokesman for the California secretary of state, which oversees election matters, said the office had received no reports of that nature.
In Texas, where some jurisdictions were reported to be experiencing record turnouts, the Texas Election Protection coalition reported widespread problems involving eligible voters who were wrongly asked to produce an approved photo ID. A federal appeals court struck down the state’s strict photo-ID requirement this summer, saying it discriminated against minorities who disproportionately lacked approved cards. And in Pittsburgh, an election judge summoned police officers to eject AmyJo Brown from a polling place after she refused the judge’s demand to produce an ID before voting.
“Some of the polling locations continue to have outdated information about the voter ID requirement” even though the state has been under legal order to educate voters and election officials about the court decision, said Zénen Jaimes Pérez, the coalition’s communications director. Pennsylvania law requires first-time voters to produce identification before casting ballots, but Ms. Brown, 37, the founder of a media start-up, said she was a regular voter.
In New York, which has never had an ID requirement, voters at one Queens polling place nonetheless faced the same obstacle as those in Texas. “When I got to the front of the line, the woman checking off names asked for my ID,” said Amy Wan, 44, a professor at Queens College. “And I said, ‘You can’t ask for my ID. We don’t have voter ID laws in this state.’ And she just looked at me. She said: ‘I need to see your ID to give you this ballot.’ Ms. Brown said she called local election officials, who came to the polling place to set the judge straight.
“I should have reported it then,” she said, “but I was so flustered and surprised that I just gave her my ID and she gave me the ballot.” “When I went back in, they didn’t say a word to me.” she said. “They were muttering under their breath, but within my hearing, about my attitude. But I did get to vote.”
And in Pittsburgh, an election judge summoned police officers to eject AmyJo Brown from a polling place after she refused the judge’s demand to produce an ID before voting. Pennsylvania law requires first-time voters to produce identification before casting ballots, but Ms. Brown, 37, the founder of a media start-up, said she was a regular voter.
Ms. Brown said she called local election officials, who came to the polling place to set the judge straight. “When I went back in, they didn’t say a word to me.” she said. “They were muttering under their breath, but within my hearing, about my attitude. But I did get to vote.”