Just As We Feared

No sooner had the polls opened in the U.S. on Election Day, problems began with electronic voting machines.

Election machine glitches caused delays and jangled nerves in a half dozen states today as voters began turning out for midterm elections that could set the tone for the last two years of President Bush's term in office.
Election officials in Delaware County, Indiana, planned to seek a court order to extend voting after an apparent computer error prevented voters from casting ballots in 75 precincts.

Apparently the order was granted, but now there's a fight to determine if ballots from votes cast during the extended poll hours will even be counted.

In suburban Pittsburgh, some precincts opened late because workers couldn't zero out voting machines, raising concern that votes from previous elections had not been purged.

And how about this nightmare in Denver?

Colorado Democratic Party officials said they will ask a state judge to keep Denver polling places open for two extra hours Tuesday night, saying computer problems forced some voters to wait up to two hours while others were turned away.
Lines of up to 300 people formed at some Denver polling places.

Remember, delays and long lines mean lost votes as some people have to go to a job or care for children and can't wait any longer. But if Election Day were a national holiday or voting was extended over two or three days, these kinds of snafus would rob far fewer voters of an opportunity to cast their ballots.

I'm just saying.