St. Louis County officials said voters experienced minor problems with new equipment at the polls today.
Some new ballot scanners weren't working at a few precincts, according to Tim Bearheart of the county auditor's office. And election judges had problems booting up some new voting machines that are meant to aid the disabled.
The county keeps backup scanners in case of problems, Bearheart said. Voters were able to insert ballots into a secured slot to be counted after the machine was fixed or another was found, he said.
Minnesota uses paper ballots, which allows officials to recount ballots if necessary.
As of this afternoon, all problems had been ironed out, Bearheart said.
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But not all voters were upset they couldn't scan their ballots.
Voters in rural Pike Township, near Embarrass, mostly chose to ignore the new-fangled electronic ballot counter that sat in the corner of the Town Hall.
People folded their paper ballots into quarters and slipped them into a locked wooden box, just as they always have, said one election official. By noon, one voter had chosen to use the new machine, while another threatened not to vote if he had to put his ballot through the scanner, the judge said.
Bearheart said St. Louis County results may be a little slower than the primary results, due to a larger number of ballots.
