Heavy turnout, a few glitches

Save for bad weather in troublesome Ohio, voting in the other states holding contests Tuesday appeared to run smoothly. Polls across all four states -- also in Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island -- reported heavy turnout, with lines forming in some places before dawn. Things appeared calm, except for sporadic glitches in Ohio.

Heavy rain, sleet and ice forced at least 10 precincts to request permission to move, and a few polling spots were running on generators because of power failures.

An ice storm hit Cleveland during rush hour, prompting non-profit groups to stop roving election monitors. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner asked a judge to hold open the polls in Sandusky County until 9 p.m., to allow voters more time to get to the polls under freezing rain.

Ballots ran out earlier in the day, forcing election workers to turn away 300 to 400 people. And a reprinting glitch delayed delivery of new ballots.

Brunner predicted as many as 4 million voters, 52 percent of Ohio's registered voters, would cast ballots. Many got a head start before Tuesday by using absentee ballots -- this was the first presidential primary in Ohio that didn't require voters to give a reason for using absentee ballots.

Election advocates worried that final counts could be delayed for hours or days, especially in Ohio, where tallying delays have become all too common, as have long waits to vote.

"They know that they're under scrutiny, so they're going to focus on getting it right," said Doug Chapin, director of Electionline.org, a project of the Pew Center for the States. "Given the choice between slowing down to get it right and going faster to get it done, I think they're going to err on the side of caution."

"One of the things that is inescapable, is when you've got a paper system, it takes longer to count," Chapin said.

In Texas, the campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton sniped at each other over allegations of caucus violations, prompting the Democratic party to issue a stern reprimand ordering both campaigns to follow the often-quirky rules of Texas precinct caucuses. Both camps claimed staffers were signing up caucus member before the polls close, which is prohibited.

Voting advocates said Texas' hybrid system of precinct caucuses and private ballots could also delay tallies. Under an arcane set of rules, precinct caucuses, which decide 30 percent of delegates, cannot be held until the polls close. Anyone in line at that point must be allowed to cast a ballot, however, meaning possible delays.

"The problems are going to be turnout-related," said Nina Perales, an attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in San Antonio. "Long lines. Long waits."