California’s first attempt at being a Super Tuesday state has already hit some glitches.
At least 15 counties reported difficulties accessing the state’s voter database. The glitch led to some voters receiving provisional ballots that must later be reviewed to confirm the votes were cast by eligible voters. Provisional ballots are not counted until the voter information is confirmed.
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While some polling stations used the fail-safe provisional ballots, not every county did. According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, some voters were still allowed to vote despite the precinct’s inability to ensure that they had not already voted.
This election was California’s first attempt at same-day voter registration. The inability to connect to the state’s database meant that the affected counties could not update citizens’ registration or confirm their eligibility.
In addition to the database issues, voters also experienced long lines in many of the counties. Los Angeles County, which implemented an electronic voting machine, faced reports of downed machines contributing to the long wait.
Christian Donovan, a voter who had two disabled machines in his precinct, said, “That was a little disconcerting. And at the time, it didn’t really cause a huge issue for me because there weren’t that many people there, but I can see how if there was a large crowd, the line could stack up.”
California has the largest delegate pool up for grabs for Democratic candidates running for president. Previously, California was one of the last states in the nation to hold its primary, but its new earlier voting date made the state a much more valuable win for candidates hoping to lock down the nomination early.
