The first Allegheny County election with electronic voting machines got off to a somewhat rocky start this morning, when more than 100 machines had problems. Surrounding counties reported almost identical problems.
Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato today said 120 machines wouldn't produce "zero-count" printouts to start the day confirming there were no votes registered in the machines.
Mr. Onorato said the elections bureau got 400 calls to start the day. By 11 a.m., there were still more than 20 polling places with problems.
There are more than 2,600 of the new machines spread over 1,314 precincts.
Mr. Onorato also said nine machines had their screens cracked during transit to the polling places.
Machines were not working at a polling place in a senior citizens high rise at Brighton and North Avenues on the North Side early in the day, and voters were given paper ballots. The problem was corrected by 8 a.m.
Similar problems were reported at a precinct on nearby Federal Street.
The story was the same at St. Justin's Church on Mount Washington, where workers at 8 a.m. said they were waiting for help from county elections bureau staffers.
And none of the machines started at St. Bede Church in Point Breeze.
Voter Richard Barker said he waited 80 minutes and ended up using a paper ballot at Burchfield School in Shaler after the machines failed to start.
U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum was among those locked out of his polling place at Forbes School in Penn Hills when an elections worker failed to show up. Mr. Onorato said the worker, at the last minute, couldn't get a ride.
Voters also reported problems at Markham School in Mt. Lebanon; at Lincoln Elementary and the Kelly Street Highrise in Pittsburgh's east end; and at Sacred Heart School in Emsworth.
Not every precinct had problems. One in Beechview reported that voters were commenting that using the new machines wasn't as hard as they expected.
But that precinct did share a prominent feature of others: low turnout. As of 2 p.m., only 18 people had cast votes.
Surrounding counties also were reporting problems with the zero-count printouts.
Larry Spahr said 20 or 25 of Washington County's 185 precincts reported problems. Mr. Spahr is director of elections.
"Most of our problems have centered around the printer on each unit," he said. "The lids on printers have to be locked tightly [for the zero-counts] to print. In most of the instances, the problems we had were with that printer, where folks didn't have the lids snapped down tightly. Paper has to be pulled through that hole. As far as the units working to their optimum, everything else has been fine. "Our poll workers were instructed how to properly set that printer up, but that's where the problem is."
Mr. Spahr said few delays resulted. "In one precinct, there were four voters that went in and they said they'd come back later. That was it. One technician and I went down there and . . . got set up. "Most have said this is a change for the better, and that includes the elderly. Most had some trepidation, but the majority opinion is, they're an improvement."
Westmoreland and Butler county officials said they had few problems but almost all of them were with the zero tapes.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
First Published: May 16, 2006, 4:00 a.m.
