Voting problems reported, already

There are scattered reports of voting problems across the country, and in Virginia, a watchdog group is already urging that polling places be kept open two hours later.

"Dozens of callers in Virginia are reporting serious polling place problems, including broken machines, long lines, and a lack of parking. Some polling places are not even open yet," reports the Election Protection Coalition.

The nonpartisan coalition is also reporting problems in Florida, where it says it has received preliminary reports of voters being turned away from the polls for incomplete registrations and instances of the statewide problem of broken optical scan machines, and in Michigan, where it says: "Voters are reporting massive voting machine malfunctions across the state resulting in long lines and discouraged voters leaving lines without casting a ballot. In many cases, poll workers are asking voters to cast their ballot on paper and they will tally them later. Some voters are being asked to vote on paper using magic markers."

The coalition says it has received 41,000 calls to its 1-866-OUR-VOTE hot line since the phones opened at 5:30 a.m.

UPDATE: John McCain's campaign has already sent out its roundup of what it calls "election day irregularities in battleground states," including Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

"Given that four states in the 2004 Presidential Election were decided by 1 percent or less, the McCain-Palin Campaign believes there should be a zero-tolerance policy for voter fraud and voter intimidation. Through a combination of news accounts and first-hand reports, the following cases of voter irregularities have been documented," it says.

The Associated Press reports that several counties have had problems with paper jams and balky touch-screen devices. In Richmond, a precinct opening was delayed because the person who had the keys overslept. Hundreds of people swarming the branch library cheered when its doors finally opened.

In New Jersey, the AP says, electronic machine glitches forced some voters to cast paper ballots.

The New Hampshire Union Leader is reporting that the state GOP is going to court to get better access for its observers at polling places, saying they have been denied “reasonable access” to same-day registration tables statewide.

GOP attorney James Merrill told the newspaper that reasonable access means “an ability to stand in a place to observe the registration process occurring. I’ve gotten feedback where we had people stationed 40 feet away from the registration table,” which he said is too far away to adequately observe the process.

Watchdog groups and both campaigns are closely monitoring any problems, given recent history, and expectations of record turnout.

Fox News Channel, meanwhile, is reporting that some Republicans are complaining that two Black Panthers were intimidating voters at a polling place in Philadelphia.