Voting problems are already causing a headache for some people on the very first day of early voting. News Channel 3 received calls from voters saying they had to wait nearly an hour for voting machines to be fixed. Andrea Williams waited in line for an hour and a half to cast her ballot. She says the line was moving pretty fast at Anointed Temple of Praise polling site, but then it stopped, “We asked what`s going on and the young lady came out and said the little ballot that you use to put in to vote stopped working.” The Election Commission says the ballot burner broke causing the machines to reject the cards. The Commission has technicians floating around town in case something like this happens, and they got to the polling site within an hour to fix the problem.
There’s a line here now at the polling site, but voters tell me the line did stretch all the way out into the parking lot, but about half of that line left because of the wait caused by the voting problems. “That`s not fair that`s not right and you just have to be persistent and determined that you will make your vote,” said Gwynelle Eggerson. Eggerson is disappointed the machines broke and caused a slow up for people hoping to run in and vote quickly on their way to work. “I’m a Vietnam Veteran, medical service specialty, and I went to Southeast Asia and I fought for this, and I think it`s important for other people to realize what`s going on,” said Eggerson.
The Election Commission says it tested all the machines before they were sent out to make sure they work, but when you deal with technology glitches happen. “Technology is a wonderful thing, but where you`re having something this important for the country you need to make sure it is running very properly and get your ducks are in a row,” said Jerol Gales.
Full Article: More Problems for Early Voters in Shelby County | WREG.com — Memphis News & Weather from WREG Television, News Channel 3.