Pennsylvania -- Problems Becoming Clearer

Here's a composite of what's being reported from Pennsylvania this afternoon:

Election Protection says it's recorded voting machine breakdowns in at least a dozen places, mainly in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. EP says it's hearing that in Pittsburgh, campaign materials are being distributed at the polls. That's illegal. And voters around the state say they never got the absentee ballots they'd applied for, so those voters are showing up to vote in person.

EP calls these major obstacles that could thwart thousands of voters.

We've also learned more specifics about Philadelphia's problems. Among them: Both machines down in one polling place at opening time, half the machines non-functional at another precinct, two-thirds of the machines out at yet another, and an absence or near-absence of paper ballots. In all, the list we saw included 15 Philadelphia polling places with defective machines.

And at another voting location, two would-be voters reported that 300 people in line were sent away this morning and told they could return when the doors opened at noon.

Overall, EP says "the situation has gotten a little bit better" since the morning. But the evening voting rush is just beginning.

-- Peter Overby

4:59 PM ET | 11- 4-2008 | permalink

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