Despite minor problems with a ballot counter machine, no major issues were reported throughout the day as Northwestern students and Evanston residents cast their votes in the 2004 general election.

The ballot counter machine at Parkes Hall broke down in the morning, forcing about 20 ballots to be placed in the secure ballot box. According to election judge Jeff Davis, Medill ’63, those ballots would be counted only after the polls closed.

Of the 2,402 precincts in Cook County, about 20 precincts reported problems with their ballot machines Tuesday, said Scott Burnham, spokesman for Cook County Clerk’s Office.

“Every election, regardless of what system you use, there will be some machines that will malfunction,” he said.

Burnham said issues with the machines are a routine problem, but Davis said the machine breakdown is a significant issue. A new machine was brought to Parkes later that morning.

“I’ve worked elections since 1990,” Davis said. “That’s the first time I’ve seen this happen … If that happened at 6 o’clock in the evening it would have been a disaster.”

According to election workers, more than 11 provisional ballots were cast at campus polling locations at Norris University Center and at Parkes.

Provisional ballots allow an individual whose registration is contested to vote. Cook County officials must confirm the voter’s eligibility before they count the vote.

Jonathan Liu, Weinberg freshman, said he registered in time but ended up casting a provisional ballot at Norris because his name was not listed in the Cook County records.

“I’m frustrated and flustered,” Liu said. “Because I stood there for 45 minutes and they might not count my vote, and it makes me feel like I didn’t vote at all.”

Most election judges and students said there were no problems at campus polling stations. But 12 to 15 voters were sent to the wrong precinct due to incorrect information given to them by the Cook County Clerk, said election judge Norris Larson.

The misinformation resulted from the redistricting in Evanston earlier this year, Burnham said. The Cook County Clerk’s Office informed voters if their precincts changed, but some voters could have relied on old information or not realized their precincts changed at all, he said.

Although the majority of voters showed up at the correct polling places and encountered no problems from election workers, some Evanston residents experienced long lines and problems with the local offices on the ballot.

The biggest problem at the North Shore Retirement Hotel, 1611 Chicago Ave., was high turnout throughout most of the day, especially in the early afternoon. At times more than 25 people were in line or waiting to cast ballots on one of the precinct’s seven voting machines, said election judge Barbara Juliar.

Some voters expressed frustration with the delay.

“People were angry, very angry, and yelling at us,” election judge Fran Adams said.

Evanston resident Doug Forward said he was motivated to wait by the strength of his political views.

“If I didn’t want to see a change in administration, I wouldn’t have waited,” he said.

Some voters said they also had trouble with the punch card ballots, particularly the portion of the ballot asking voters whether to retain more than 70 sitting judges in Cook County. Many voters accidentally over-voted in this section.

“I get confused on them, too,” said Rick Robinson, an election judge at the Jane R. Perlman home, 1900 Sherman Ave., to one voter. “It’s a common thing.”

Reach Ashima Singal at [email protected]. The Daily’s Michael Beder contributed to this report.

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Long lines, few problems disturb local polling spots