Lack of three-pronged adaptors closes polling site for hours
Reported by  Jennifer Murphy, WKYC.com
May 2, 2006.

CLEVELAND Elections officials knew there would be problems making the transition from paper ballots to electronic voting and they were right.

In fact, the CEO of the board of elections gave Tuesday's performance a failing grade.

In some cases, the problems with the machines were complicated Access cards that didn't work, paper trails that jammed.

But at the Garden Valley Neighborhood Center on Cleveland's east side, it was a "small set back" that caused big problems - the voting machines have three-pronged outlets, but the center didn't have electrical adaptors.

"I kind of think something fishy is going on because I don't understand why it took so long for someone to get here to set up the site," poll worker Paulzalina Wagner said.

Election officials are calling for an investigation into what went wrong holding the machine manufacturer Diebold responsible.

"We believe that's unacceptable and something we have to review and refine for future elections," Elections Director Michael Vu said.

Overwhelmed poll workers with minimal training are also feeling the heat.

"Were there some people who didn't pay attention to training?" Board of Elections C.E.O. Bob Bennett said. "Of course"

Councilman Kevin Conwell blasted election officials, claiming they didn't properly train the volunteers.

"They didn't know what they were doing, they wanted to go home," Conwell said. "[Some] called the board, and they never got any help what so ever."

Tallying the votes has also been a challenge.

A problem with the absentee ballots has forced officials to hand count some 17,000, a task they'll start at midnight Wednesday morning.