A group of voting rights advocates is pushing for three fundamental electoral reforms prior to the 2010 midterms.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Armed with anecdotal evidence from thousands of calls placed to voter hotlines last year, a group of voting rights advocates will lobby Congress Thursday for changes to the federal laws relating to the nation's election administration systems.

"So much of the process right now is set up with barriers for the voter that is more focused on going through so many hoops to actually exercise the franchise," John Bonifaz, the Legal Director of Voter Action told CNN.

A national coalition of voting rights groups including Voter Action, the NAACP National Voter Fund and the Advancement Project, will present a report Thursday to Pennsylvania Rep. Robert Brady, chairman of the House Administration Committee, that makes the case for a number of electoral reforms. The hearing is titled: "Engaging the Electorate-Strategies for Expanding Access to Democracy."

The report is based on a review of roughly 17,000 calls placed by voters in Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia to two voter hotlines – one marketed by the NAACP National Voter Fund primarily to African-American audiences and another marketed primarily by CNN and its affiliated networks.

"The focus should be – as we try to highlight in this report – how do we enable the voter to exercise the franchise in an unencumbered way?" Bonifaz said.

Advocates will push Congress to make three fundamental changes to how elections are conducted.

First, the report suggests that the Help America Vote Act of 2002 should be amended to do away with the provisional ballots states are currently required to provide to voters whose names are not on registration rolls but who contend that they are validly registered to vote. Once a provisional ballot is cast, the voter and local election officials can resolve any questions about eligibility and then the ballot is counted.

In practice, say advocates, provisional ballots have been treated differently from regular ballots. They believe that voters in that situation should be allowed to vote on regular ballots if they also complete an affidavit about their eligibility to vote. The use of the affidavit – already in use in Michigan and Vermont – is meant to ensure that all voters get the same ballot and to provide greater assurance that all ballots will be counted.

Second, advocates want Congress to require states to have backup paper ballots on hand in polling places using electronic voting systems.

Bonifaz called the belief that electronic systems were better an "outdated" view that gained currency in the wake of the close election between former Vice President Al Gore and former President George W. Bush. Now, some states are moving back to paper-based ballot systems after using electronic systems.

Finally, advocates want Congress to establish a national standard for acceptable identification at polling places that prohibits states from imposing their own additional requirements.

"At a minimum," an advance copy of the report says, "Congress should clarify that . . . a current and valid photo identification and/or current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government that shows the name and address of the voter."

On the eve of the congressional hearing examining the nation's voting systems, Bonifaz warned against complacency in the effort to continue to improve the country's election system.

"In particular, we're dealing with an election where because there was such a decisive outcome at the presidential level [in 2008] ," said Bonifaz, "people somehow thought that we've now moved away from these problems. Part of what we're trying to do with here with this report is demonstrate that is entirely not the case."

As evidence of potential "hot spots" where voting rights problems could arise in the next federal election, Bonifaz pointed to the six states where the calls were drawn from in drafting the report.

He also pointed to the razor-thin 2008 Minnesota Senate race that was only recently resolved eight months after Election Day following a recount and a decision by that state's highest court as an example as a close race where a recount was possible because Minnesota uses voter-marked paper ballots as advocated in the report to be released Thursday.

Updated: 9:33 a.m.

Students at Lincoln University faced very long lines to vote Tuesday.

(CNN) - Long lines were common in several battleground states on Election Day, but students at Pennsylvania's Lincoln University may have set a new standard for patience.

Hundreds of voters who registered at the last minute turned out to cast ballots at the college outside Philadelphia, forcing precinct officers to verify their eligibility with Chester County's election office, said Agnes O'Toole, assistant director of the county's Department of Voter Services.

The result was a nearly 11-hour wait in a chilly drizzle for voters like Jacintha Johnson, a senior at the historically African-American school. Johnson told CNN that she got in line at 7:30 a.m. and voted at 6 p.m.

"Practically the entire school was out there," she said. "It started to rain. Students were complaining about being hungry. The school provided some snacks, finally, at about 10 o'clock in the morning. Now, the line is pretty much the same."

O'Toole said registration drives delivered forms for about 700 of the nearly 2,800-plus voters registered at that precinct on the October 6 deadline for this year's elections - "So when the poll books were printed, they were not in the poll books."

Calls to O'Toole's office verified most of those in line were registered voters. Others were issued provisional ballots, she said. But the process slowed down the line.

"The crowd has remained calm," O'Toole said. "There are defintely a few people having a hard time waiting in line for a long time, but it's been peaceful."

CNN has projected that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will win Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes.

Authorities reported massive voter turnout across the state, which was crucial for Republican nominee John McCain's White house bid. Election officials had advised counties to prepare for as many as 80 percent of the state's registered voters to turn out.

– CNN's Rob Frehse and Matt Smith contributed to this report.

VELDA CITY, Missouri (CNN) - Pollworkers failed to set up about half the number of available machines at the city hall polling station, slowing the process to a crawl, said a county elections board representative. Seven hour waits were reported late afternoon. Elections officials said the polling location was so small that the 14 workers on-site decided it would be too cramped if they set up all the machines.

Three touchscreens and two optical scanners had been set up to accommodate about 1,200 registered voters, while 4 additional optical scanners remained unpacked. By 4pm, election board director Judge Joseph Goeke had identified the problem and ordered that workers set up the remaining idle units.

The county elections board representative told CNN that wait times are back down to 2 hours at the site, and that all voters in line will be allowed to cast their ballots.

Virginia voters at the polls in Alexandria.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - At least three cases of possible voter suppression at election sites around Virginia will be investigated by state police, according to Virginia election officials.

The cases were reported in the city of Richmond, Fairfax County and Fauquier County, according to Nancy Rodrigues, Virginia's executive secretary of the Board of Elections.

In once case she said the "over presentation of law enforcement" at one polling location was called in. In another case someone was playing a recording of right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh loud enough to violate the no campaigning within 300 feet of a voting location.

"We are working very closely with local and state police to investigate these allegations," Rodrigues said during a press conference in Richmond Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the election board said they could not say what the third incident was and could not comment further on the cases, only saying that investigations are underway on all three incidents.

(CNN) - A power outage briefly delayed voting in Akron, in the battleground state of Ohio Tuesday. Summit county Board of Elections director Marijean Donofrio says the power went out at two polling places, a school and a community center for about 20 minutes for an unknown reason. Donofrio says election officials were able to restore electricity using a generator. She says turnout in the county has been heavy but voters in line at the times the polls closed at 7:30pm would be eligible to vote.

(CNN) - With voters turning out in record numbers, voting rights advocates in Ohio say they have received thousands of reports of problems with provisional ballots across the state Tuesday. Voters in Columbus and Cleveland registered the most complaints. Pam Wilmot from Common Cause said provisional ballots could "play a significant role in the outcome of today's election."

Ohio relies heavily on provisional ballots which are issued to a voter for a myriad of reasons but the top three are the voter's name not appearing on the registration rolls, a voter showing up in the wrong precinct, or problems with the voter's form of identification.

Patrick Galloway, spokesman for the Ohio Secretary of State says his office has gotten complaints about the number of provisional ballots being issued. He says the Secretary of State's office has "provided direction to the (state's county election) boards to get the word to their provisional judges at polling locations on how to make sure votes are accurately cast."

Steve Hartsman, director of the Montgomery County Ohio Board of Elections which includes Dayton estimates that by time polls close, voters will have cast 12,000-18,000 provisional ballots in his county Tuesday. Hartsman says Montgomery county typically sees 10,000 provisional ballots cast, but he points to record high numbers of voters. Hartsman says more than 300,000 votes will be cast in Montgomery county. In 2004, 279,000 votes were cast.

Voter turnout is high in Cleveland as well. Kim Bartlett of the Cuyahoga Board of Elections says as of 6pm a random sampling of 44 precincts in her county shows that voter turnout is at 56.07%, which she characterizes as high.

Ohio is second only to California in the use of provisional ballots according to Donita Judge, from the Advancement Project, a voter protection organziation. A report issued by the Advancement Project this year shows that in the 2006 general election, more than 120,000 ballots cast in Ohio were provisional ballots. Of those, 18% were rejected and eventually not counted. The ballots were mandated by Congress to ensure that no voter would be turned away from a polling place due to lack of identification. However, provisional ballots are not counted until 10 days after the election, after all official ballots are recorded, and are contestable. Experts say they could be decisive in a close race.

Some judges at polling precincts in Ohio were issuing provisional ballots in error because they were confused about whether state drivers' licenses with outdated addresses could be used as proof of identification, Hamilton County Board of Elections Director Sally Krisel confirmed Tuesday.

"They are nervous, so they have them vote by provisional ballot," Krisel said of the judges who were not aware of an Ohio law that mandates that drivers' licenses can be used as proof of identification and address, even if the address does not match the voter's current address.

Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Community Outreach coordinator Kim Bartlett says the same thing is occurring in her county.

"If I move, I'm not required to get a new drivers license with a new address, she explained Tuesday. "Licenses are good for four years, even if they don't have a valid address, its still considered valid proof of ID."

Both the Hamilton County and Cuyahoga County Board of Elections say they were engaged in outreach efforts throughout election day to explain the rules on provisional ballots to confused poll workers.

Ohio State University law professor Edward Foley said he had also heard some complaints about voters being forced to use the provisional ballot but it was too early to tell if this was a systematic, statewide problem.

"Ohio's provisional voting laws are unbelievably complicated, he added. "There are 14 separate reasons why a voter should vote on a provisional ballot. I'm a law professor and I can't keep them in my head. We can't expect poll workers to implement these rules flawlessly."

Krisel assured Ohio voters Tuesday that "all ballots will be counted" even if they were provisional.

But Democratic watchdog group, the Advancement Project, remained concerned.

"We are observing an excessive use of provisional ballots, and are wondering why," said lawyer Sheila Thomas on Tuesday. Candice Hoke of Cleveland State University's Center for Election Integrity said the reason could lie in problems with the voter databases themselves.

"Problems with voter registration records in database are leading to higher rates of provisional ballots than should be occurring."

Her monitors had received complaints that some voters had found themselves dropped from voter rolls due to hiccups with the voter registration databases that are not subject to federal certification systems for accuracy or security. They were therefore forced to vote by provisional ballot as well.

–CNN's Beth Elliott contributed to this report

Updated: 7:23 p.m.

(CNN) - A judge ruled in favor of the New Hampshire State Republican party today in a lawsuit that alleged some GOP election observers were prevented from monitoring same day voter registrations. "We are not alleging any malfeasance today," said Fergus Cullen , Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. "The ability to observe some same day registration process was denied by individual polling stations." Cullen told CNN the judge ruled quickly in their favor.

Superior Court Judge Gillian Abramson ruled that poll observers should be situated in an area where they can "meaningfully see and hear each voter."

Matt Normand, Deputy City Clerk for Manchester, New Hampshire, pointed out there are privacy issues surrounding access to voter registration tables because sensitive material- such as social security numbers and driver's license could be compromised.

Voters line up to cast their ballots at Colin Powell Elementary School in Centreville, Virginia.(GETTY IMAGES)
WASHINGTON (CNN) – In the final hour of voting in Virginia the state continues to see record voter turnout and expects it to continue until the pools close at 7pm, state officials said Tuesday.

Up to 40 percent of Virginia's five million registered voters showed up to the polls Tuesday morning, breaking previous records and causing long voting lines, according to state election officials and CNN viewers.

The voting lines in parts of state thinned out, but in other areas like Virginia Beach voter turnout remained heavy, according to a state spokesman.

Officials said past elections generally brought about half the number of voters who showed up during Tuesday's morning rush.

Nancy Rodrigues, Virginia's executive secretary of the Board of Elections told reporters in Richmond Tuesday that by the end of the day she expected 75 percent of the registered voters to have cast ballots.

Rodrigues was not surprised by some of the voting machine problems that cropped up because of the large numbers of people showing up to the polls.

A caller to CNN's voter hotline, Marie Murphy of Norfolk, Virginia said voting lines were about four to seven hours long in Norfolk in the southern part of the state. Norfolk is in one of the heaviest populated parts of the state where lines have been long all day.

Election officials said that because of the heavy turnout voters should not expect final results to come out well into early Wednesday morning.

Robbins' name was missing from rolls.

NEW YORK (CNN) - When Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins showed up at his West 14th Street YMCA polling center in Manhattan to vote Tuesday morning, election officials told him that his name was missing from the register.

"I went to vote where I normally vote and I was not listed. I asked for an explanation; they had none," Robbins told CNN.

He said he has been voting in the same district since 1992. He has not missed one election, and has not changed addresses or political affiliations.

"The poll worker said my name was in the book for the primary two months ago, but missing for the general election," he told CNN.

Although Robbins was offered the opportunity to fill out a provisional ballot, he was set on using the voting machine instead.

"Refuse provisional ballots - they're throwing those out, they can throw those out," he told viewers of "Real Time With Bill Maher" last month.

"If that's your last resort, take it, but fight for your right to vote," he said. "It's your right as an American."

It took Robbins a total of five hours - and a judge's order - to do so today.

"I'm just waiting for an explanation. I want a real explanation, and I want that explanation for the hundreds and thousands of people in my district and throughout the city who are experiencing the same thing today," Robbins told CNN.

A New York City Board of Elections representative did not return CNN's calls.

Polling places nationwide have seen heavy turnout - and accompanying delays and glitches - for the presidential race between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

Michigan residents stand in line waiting to vote in the presidential election at the Coleman Young Community Center in Detroit.

(CNN) - Estimates on the longest voting lines in Detroit, Michigan were as high as 5 hours. Election Protection, a non-partisan voting watch dog group, reported a 5 hour, 1,000 person long line at Detroit's Beth Eden Baptist Church earlier on Election Day. They said it was largely due to understaffed polling stations. While state officials echo that lines were long, especially in the morning rush, they couldn't confirm voters waited 5 hours at this location. "We heard a report that 1000 people waited 5 hours but when we got there at 3:00 pm, there were 100 people inside, 100 people outside and they had waited two and a half hours," said Kelly Chesney, Spokeswoman for Michigan's Secretary of State. They expect lines to swell again as people get out of work and while most polls close statewide at 8pm ET, 4 of Michigan's western counties, Dickinson, Gogebic, Iron, and Menominee, are in the Central time zone and polls close there at 9pm ET (8pm CT). Voters still standing in line at 8pm will be allowed to cast their vote.

Updated 5:38 p.m.

Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at Lyles Crouch School on Election Day November 4, 2008 in Alexandria, Virginia.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Some 50 percent of the registered voters in Chesapeake, Virginia showed up to the polls early to vote Tuesday morning causing long wait times, according to a spokesman at the Virginia Board of Elections.

Officials do not believe there were technical problems causing the lines, however some voting locations in the area were experiencing problems with optical scanner voting as wet ballots did not scan properly. It rained in parts of Virginia election day.

At a press conference for reporters election board officials said the wet ballots would be collected and secured and once dry tabulated by officials in front of official observers.

Voting crowds have since thinned out and Virginia election officials are expecting more lines as people leave work and come to the polls to vote.

Reports of lines in the Virginia Beach region are also due to a heavy volume of voters. The region is one of the largest municipalities in the state and has seen consistent voter turnout Tuesday, officials said.

The lines had about a 30 minute wait at 4pm eastern Tuesday, and to make things move faster election officials at the voting locations split the paper voter logs among the staff to allow more voters to check in faster, according to Jessica Lane, a spokesman at the Virginia Board of Elections.

There are no reports of equipment malfunctions, Lane said. The Virginia Beach voter region uses touch-screen electronic voting machines.

Fake text messages were sent out on Election Day.

(CNN) - Voters in several states have receiving bogus text messages or e-mail urging supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to put off voting until Wednesday because of long lines, spurring threats of prosecution in at least two states.

The messages - a perennial election stunt - popped up Tuesday on mobile phones and computers in the battleground states of Florida, Virginia and Missouri, as well as in several other states. One falsely claimed to be a "CNN breaking news" alert.

"All Obama voters, due to long delays, are asked to wait and vote tomorrow 11/05," that message stated.

Election Day is a one-day event, of course - and in a statement issued Tuesday, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan said she had "no tolerance" for anyone attempting to confuse voters.

"I am working with local election officials around the state to make sure poll workers and voters understand their rights," said Carnahan, a Democrat.

"Anyone attempting to deprive voters of their rights on Election Day will be prosecuted."

In Maryland, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Douglas Gansler said his office had passed along complaints about the messages to the U.S. Justice Department and state prosecutors.

Similar messages were reported in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Maryland and Arkansas.

In Virginia, hackers breached the computer network at George Mason University to send the message, university Provost Peter Stearns told students, faculty and staff in an e-mail denouncing the hoax.

"I am sure everybody realizes this is a hoax," he said. "It is also a serious offense, and we are looking into it. Please be reminded that Election Day is today, November 4th."

A flyer with a similar message was spread around the Hampton Roads area of southeast Virginia last week. Virginia State Police said Monday that they would not bring charges against the man who printed them, and state Board of Elections Secretary Nancy Rodriguez called the flyers "a joke that got out of control."

A long line of voters wait patiently outside their polling place to cast their ballots in St. Louis.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) - Long lines at polling stations across the city are no surprise, said officials at the St. Louis County Board of Elections. Callers into the CNN Voting Hotline reported waits of 4 to 6 hours in the northern suburbs of Jennings and Velda City.

The county's board of elections assistant director Dick Bauer said a lengthy ballot and what he expects to be a record turnout have slowed the process. Voters can make as many as 37 selections on the ballot today, and 10 of them are issue choices, said Bauer.

Voters in line at two polling locations in the suburb of Jennings have been experiencing waits of 4 hours or more, according to U.S. Representative William Lacy Clay. The congressman said both Jennings City Hall and Fairview Elementary were understaffed to handle the crowds.

"As we expected, the St. Louis County Board of Elections authority was ill-equipped and ill-prepared for the mass of humanity that showed up to exercise their constitutional right to vote today," said Clay. He said two judges were in place at Fairview Elementary where upwards of 400 people were waiting in line to vote.

Judge Joseph Goeke, director of the Board of Elections, said Clay's statement was incorrect, and that Fairview Elementary had 12 judges all day. He said the county was planning to add another two judges this afternoon. In response to Clay's accusations that polls were ill-equipped and understaffed, Goeke said his plans for today's elections exceeded requirements.

"We're required to have one voting device for every 124 people, and I have one for every 108 or 109," said Goeke. Goeke also said voters in St Louis County have 25% more equipment than he has ever deployed in an election.

St. Louis County has touchscreen and optical scan equipment. Goeke said that "outside influences" are trying to dissuade voters from using touchscreen machines and that some of them go idle at polling stations.

"It's a shame certain advocates are slowing down the process by telling people to take paper ballots", said Goeke, "we have more than enough equipment available."

A voter in Cincinnati sits while filling out his ballot because all of the official voting stations were full.

CINCINNATI, Ohio (CNN) - Some judges at polling precincts in Ohio were issuing provisional ballots in error because they were confused about whether state drivers' licenses with outdated addresses could be used as proof of identification, Hamilton County Board of Elections Director Sally Krisel confirmed Tuesday.

"They are nervous, so they have them vote by provisional ballot," Krisel said of the judges who were not aware of an Ohio law that mandates that drivers' licenses can be used as proof of identification and address, even if the address does not match the voter's current address.

Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Community Outreach coordinator Kim Bartlett says the same thing is occurring in her county.

"If I move, I'm not required to get a new drivers license with a new address, she explained Tuesday. "Licenses are good for four years, even if they don't have a valid address, its still considered valid proof of ID."

Both the Hamilton County and Cuyahoga County Board of Elections say they were engaged in outreach efforts throughout election day to explain the rules on provisional ballots to confused poll workers.

Ohio State University law professor said he had also heard some complaints about voters being forced to use the provisional ballot but it was too early to tell if this was a systematic, statewide problem.

"Ohio's provisional voting laws are unbelievably complicated, he added. "There are 14 separate reasons why a voter should vote on a provisional ballot. I'm a law professor and I can't keep them in my head. We can't expect poll workers to implement these rules flawlessly."

Provisional ballots are issued in Ohio when a voter's identity cannot be verified because the voter does not have proper identification, no identification, or is using the last four digits of the social security number as proof of identification. Voters with an address change or name change are also required to vote by provisional ballot. Voters are required to provide proof of identification within ten days of the election, according to Krisel.

The ballots were mandated by Congress to ensure that no voter would be turned away from a polling place due to lack of identification. However, provisional ballots are normally counted after all official ballots are recorded, and are contestable. Experts say they could be decisive in a close race.

Krisel assured Ohio voters Tuesday that "all ballots will be counted" even if they were provisional.

But Democratic watchdog group, the Advancement Project, remained concerned.

"We are observing an excessive use of provisional ballots, and are wondering why," said lawyer Sheila Thomas on Tuesday. Candice Hoke of Cleveland State University's Center for Election Integrity said the reason could lie in problems with the voter databases themselves.

"Problems with voter registration records in database are leading to higher rates of provisional ballots than should be occurring."

Her monitors had received complaints that some voters had found themselves dropped from voter rolls due to hiccups with the voter registration databases that are not subject to federal certification systems for accuracy or security. They were therefore forced to vote by provisional ballot as well.

Updated 3:52pm

Voters checked in a Philadelphia polling place Tuesday.

(CNN) - A man wearing what appeared to be a black outfit with a beret and holding a nightstick was asked by police to leave a polling location in Philadelphia Tuesday, according to Philadelphia County Board of Elections Supervisor, Bill Rubin.

Rubin says the man left without incident. He says another man wearing similar attire had a poll watcher certificate and was allowed to remain at the polling site at 1221 Fairmont Avenue.

A video posted on Youtube, by electionjournal.org, shows two men standing several feet in front of the entrance to Guild House West, the polling location for the 4th Division of Ward 14 in Philadelphia. The cameraman in the video asks a man with a nightstick who he's with and the man responds, "I'm security." The cameraman later says "I think it might be a little bit intimidating that you have a stick in your hand."

Rubin says local election rules state a person cannot be within 10 to 15 feet of the entrance to a polling place unless that person is voting, is a poll worker, or has a poll watcher certificate.

Rubin says anyone practicing voter intimidation outside that 10 to 15 foot perimeter could pose a public safety issue and would be handled by the police.

Cathie Abookire, a spokewoman for the Philadelphia District Attorney's office, says the office is not investigating the matter, calling it a "non-incident." Abookire says, "We have had no complaints from any voters that they have been intimidated."

Voters were in line before sunrise at one North Carolina polling place Tuesday morning.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Rain in parts of North Carolina caused some early problems for voters using optical scanner ballots Tuesday, but a memo about using paper towels seemed to dry up the problem, according to North Carolina officials.

Voters were coming into voting locations early Tuesday morning and getting the paper ballots wet as they handled them, according to Gary Bartlett, Executive Director of the North Carolina Election Board.

"We sent out a memo to the county election boards asking them to hand out paper towels to voters before they were given a ballot," Bartlett said.

Bartlett was not sure how many calls his office received Tuesday, but he said it was very few before he recognized the potential problem and sent out the message.

The problem seemed to subside, Bartlett said, as he saw a drop in the number of calls reporting the wet ballot problem later in the morning.

Optical scanner ballots use a paper ballot that is filled out by voters in pencil and then slid into a machine that reads the ballot.

If the ballot is wet the machine has trouble feeding the paper and it can jam or tear.

Two individual reports of wet ballot problems were reported in Wake County, NC Tuesday, according to election officials.

Wake County covers the area around the state capital, Raleigh.

One wet ballot jammed in a machine, forcing voting officials at the polling location to replace the machine and re-scan the ballot.

A second ballot jammed and was ripped when it was pulled back out of the machine. The individual was allowed to fill out another ballot and the old ballot was cancelled, according to Cherie Poucher, Director of the Wake County Election Board.

One common problem in North Carolina is voters voting a straight ticket ballot.

The ballot is designed to put the vote for president in a different column when voting for a single party. Voters sometimes miss the different column to vote for President.

The ballot has been in use since the late 1960's, but questions by voters often come up, Bartlett said.

Counties were again warned of the problem and told to inform voters if they were going to vote a straight ticket, according to Bartlett.

Wake County handed out flyers to both early voters and voters on Tuesday to remind them of how the ballot works, according to Poucher.

"We have received just a handful of calls about this issue this year," Poucher said.

Some voters took advantage of early voting in New Mexico.

(CNN) - Officials in Dona Ana County, New Mexico say they are having problems with absentee ballots. But it's unclear just how many voters may not see their vote count.

Jess Williams, public information officer for the county, said of 11,985 absentee ballots requested, 8,141 have been processed. As of midday Tuesday, the number of outstanding absentee ballots is 3,844.

And the Bureau of Elections is still getting calls from residents who have not yet received their absentee ballots, Williams said. He said those voters may go to the polling place where they are registered to request a provisional ballot and they will be allowed to vote.

While that may be an option for some, many voters vote absentee because health problems keep them from going to the polls. Others are away at college, in the military, or out of town for other reasons, and showing up in person may not be possible.

In order to be counted, absentee ballots must reach the county clerk's Office no later than 7pm local time on election day. Absentee ballots also can be delivered to polling places on election day, but only the voter can deliver it.

Both Democrats and Republicans in the county say they are getting calls from voters who feel they've been left out.

Chris Salas, a spokesman for the county Democratic party, said the party office was getting "tons of calls" from people complaining because they have not gotten ballots. Gen Mitchell, a volunteer at the Dona Ana County Republican party, said "legally they were supposed to have them [absentee ballots] out, and they didn't get them out."

(CNN) KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Polling locations that had incorrect registration rolls in Kansas City's 5th Ward now have the right books, according to Laura Egerdal, Communications Director for Missouri's Secretary of State's Office. She said the county dispatched additional pollworkers to help with the backlog of voters and long lines.

When judges for six precincts in the fifth ward opened the first set of books this morning, they discovered that the cover jackets did not match the registration rolls, said Board of Elections director Shelley McThomas. The covers - indicating ward, precinct and sequence numbers - were mixed up when the books were originally assembled.

"They looked like the right books, but when the judges opened them this morning they discovered, no, these pages aren't the right pages", McThomas said. New books were printed on-site at the Board of Elections after the problem was discovered, and were delivered by deputies to anxious judges and voters in the fifth ward.

Former Virginia Gov. and Senate candidate Mark Warner greets an elderly voter at a polling place in Alexandria, VA Tuesday.

(CNN) - In response to a complaint to the CNN Voter Hotline, the Virginia Board of Elections is directing polling stations to assist elderly and disabled voters, according to the board's Mike Litterst. He said Virginia Secretary of State Nancy Rodriguez has sent an email to state registrars that the stations are obligated to assist those individuals.

Chesapeake is reporting few technical problems in any of its 53 voting sites, a Chesapeake City support technician told CNN. He said the voting machines are user friendly, even for the elderly and disabled, and poll workers are certified to adjust any machine to assist voters.

The state election board spokesman said in the event the machines are down, paper ballots would be offered. Litterst could not confirm the caller's claims that there was no one to help the elderly and disabled but said measures have been taken to ensure that those voters are being treated fairly.

Kansas City, Mo. (CNN) - At least three polling locations in Kansas City's 5th Ward have the wrong registration books, said Board of Elections director Shelley McThomas. She said cover jackets indicating ward, precinct and sequence numbers were mixed up when the books were assembled at the Board of Elections.

Deputies deliver the books in pairs, and McThomas said elections officials think the problems are limited to 6 registration rolls for 3 polling locations within Ward 5.

"They looked like the right books, but when the judges opened them this morning they discovered, no, these pages aren't the right pages", McThomas said.

Kansas City election officials have sent teams to investigate. McThomas confirmed CNN voter hotline caller Elizabeth Wakowski's report that one of the affected polling locations is at the Immanuel Lutheran Church at 1700 Westport Rd.

McThomas said she's waiting to hear back from deputies in the field whether the problems have been resolved.

Some Philadelphia voters will have to use emergency ballots due to broken machines.

(CNN) - Philadelphia has experienced problems with voting machines not working in eight of 1,681 election divisions throughout the city, according to Bill Rubin, Supervisor of the Philadelphia County Board of Elections.

Rubin reported none of these problems have been serious, and where machines have gone down, voters have been allowed to vote on emergency ballots.

He says these emergency ballots are the same forms as provisional ballots, but are marked with an "EB" to indicate they are emergency ballots, and they will be counted just as if they were votes recorded on a machine. In contrast, provisional ballots are given to those voters whose registrations cannot be confirmed in the poll book, or who have gone to the wrong voting division.

Rubin said some of the problems with voting machines may be a result of poll workers forgetting their training. He says in some cases poll workers received training some time ago, and may have forgotten parts of it by election day, leading them to start the voting machines incorrectly.

Voters in Florida wait to cast their ballots Tuesday morning, despite problems at some polling stations.

West Palm Beach (CNN) - Florida's Palm Beach County is reporting problems at a couple of polling stations: so-called "undervotes," where machines reject ballots because some voters are not filling out the second page of the ballot, a spokesman for the county Board of Elections confirmed. The page contains proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution.

The spokesman said these undervotes are legal. The scanner spits the ballot back and reminds the voter to vote on the second page, the spokesman said, adding that the voter then has the choice of voting or registering the undervote.

Watch: Floridians vote

He said in some cases people simply forget to fill out the second page, but most voters seem to be intentionally skipping that part of the ballot.

The town of Palm Beach is also reporting minor sporadic voter machine failures, the spokesman said. A handful of machines had to be replaced.

One polling station in the county opened one hour late because of a problem with their precinct voting list.

Virginia voters faced rainy weather early Tuesday morning while waiting to vote.

(CNN) – Some voting machines are not working properly in Chesapeake, Virginia because of wet weather, according to voters and the State Board of Elections. Spokesman Ryan Enright confirmed the rain is throwing a wrench in the works in a few places that use optical-scan paper ballots.

He said ballots were getting soaked as water drips off wet voters walking into polling stations. That makes the scanner unable to read a ballot.

The Virginia State Board of Elections is encouraging all voters to dry off before filing out ballots to avoid problems.

And to solve the problem of wet ballots, the polling station is collecting them in a secure container next to the polling machine. Once dried, these ballots will be tabulated by officials, Enright said.

He added that while this will mean a longer processing time for election officials, it should not affect voters and their wait time.

CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from The Best Political Team.

(CNN)–The 21-month marathon is over: Voters head to the polls today to elect the 44th President of the United States. In the latest installment of CNN=Politics Daily: Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain hold their last round of rallies in key battleground states, as CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux and Ed Henry take a look at what has been the longest presidential campaign in history.
 
Plus: Are Republicans about to become an endangered species? CNN’s Jim Acosta breaks down the balance of power in the House and Senate and why GOP anxiety is at an all-time high.
 
And: Broken machines and long lines are just some of the issues voters are facing at the polls.  CNN’s Carol Costello breaks down common Election Day problems, and offers helpful tips to the affected in her voter survival guide.
 
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Several Philadelphia polling precincts had to remove non-authorized workers.

Philadelphia (CNN) – At least six Republican election board workers in Philadelphia were told to leave their polling precincts because they did not belong to the party in the majority and had not received a court order to work on election day, Philadelphia County Board of Elections Supervisor Bill Rubin confirmed.

Rubin said the Election Board requires a court order issued by the Commonwealth Court in Philadelphia for those workers who are not elected to the post.

"The same thing happens in every election," Rubin added. "These are mostly minority areas that are heavily Democratic and there isn't a lot of Republican representation."

But Bill Porritt, a spokesman for the McCain-Palin presidential campaign, said the campaign might seek legal action.

"Election board officials guard the legitimacy of the election process and the idea that Republicans are being intimidated and banned for partisan purposes does not allow for an honest and open election process," Porritt said Tuesday.

Rubin said the Republican workers were headed to the courthouse Tuesday morning, and that some had already been issued the court orders needed to allow them to start work immediately.

Rubin said the workers were not official overseers or monitors at the precincts, but function as representatives at the voting tables for any voters who had questions.

The precincts affected include Philadelphia's 44th Ward, Divisions 12 and 13, 6th Ward, Division 12, and 32nd Ward, Division 28.

Residents wait in line to vote Tuesday morning in Annandale, Virginia.

(CNN) – Voting machines were breaking down or simply not deployed in adequate numbers in some polling places Tuesday morning, slowing balloting as Election Day dawned.

Watch: Last push in Colorado

Long lines were seen in rainy Richmond, Virginia, where Henrico County switched to paper ballots at the Math and Science Center after five of seven machines broke down.

Callers to the CNN Voter Hotline originally said there were no paper ballots. But Virginia's State Board of Elections said the center has started using the ballots and the board is in the process of deploying more equipment.

Watch: Obama's first win

Fairfax County, Virginia, General Registrar Rokey Suleman said a handful of memory cards did not work when machines were started Tuesday morning. He said replacement memory cards already have been sent to those precincts with problems.

Full story

(CNN) – Voting machine problems and some delays are reported in Lake County, Indiana, just across the state line from Chicago.

Damian Rico, communications director for the city of East Chicago, Indiana, said at one precinct in Riley Park, two machines were down for about 15 minutes when the polling place opened. Both machines are up and running now.

County election director Sally La Sota was not aware of any major problems, other than long lines.

The county is expected to vote heavily for Democrat Barack Obama. There is a significant black population and the county is just southeast of Obama's hometown of Chicago. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Lake County has a 26% black population, 13.9% Hispanic population.

Statewide, officials say there are no significant problems. Jim Gavin, communications director for the Indiana Secretary of State, said there were long lines statewide but no issues that he was aware of.

Raleigh scanners are having trouble handling ballots that are wet from rain dripping off of soaked voters.

Raleigh, NC (CNN) - A soggy and delayed start to the voting day in a Raleigh, North Carolina, precinct, after some confusion at the polling station. Wake County Board of Elections director Cherie Poucher reported there were problems this morning at the Barwell Road Community Center (formerly the Ebenezer Church Road precinct). She confirmed that the chief judge forgot to take the ballots out of her grandson's truck when being dropped off this morning. The elections director says the truck drove away, and the judge wasn't able to track down her grandson. The Board of Elections delivered new ballots and voting began at 7:06am, 36 minutes behind schedule. Approximately 300 people were waiting in line.

"When the board meets today, I expect that they will vote to keep the precinct open an additional 36 minutes," Poucher added.

Rain has also been a factor this morning in Wake County, North Carolina. Soaking voters dripped water onto their ballots as they were filling them out, causing problems for the optical scanners.

"When we put the ballot through the scanner it is soggy and doesn't go through," Poucher said. "One ripped and got stuck when the voter tried to get it out." The scanner then had to be taken out of service.

Poucher said voters with soggy ballots were being asked to deposit them in the emergency ballot box. When they are dried and the scanners are back up and running, the ballots will be put through the optical scanners, the official added.

Poucher said that voters will not be inconvenienced because of this situation.

Paper ballots are now being used in Richmond after complaints that none were available.

RICHMOND (VA) - Voting machine problems at the Math and Science Center in Richmond have forced the county to switch to paper ballots at the location.

Watch: Early voting in Virginia

The board of elections tells CNN the location is using paper ballots after five of seven machines broke down. Callers to the CNN Hotline originally said there were no paper ballots. But the Board of Elections now says they have started using the ballots and are in the process of deploying more equipment.

Paper ballots will be used until machines in Fairfax County are fixed.

Fairfax County, Virginia (CNN) - General Registrar Rokey Suleman said a handful of memory cards did not work when machines were started this morning. He tells CNN that new memory cards have already been sent out to those precincts with problems. He said a "very, very small number of machines" were affected, and voters at those locations could use paper ballots instead until the problem was corrected.

Suleman said there are long lines everywhere. He added they expected that and are prepared for that. The 228 precincts in the county use both optical scan and electronic voting machines.

People started lining up to vote at 4:30am. The polls opened at 6am.

Residents of Hart's Location and Dixville Notch lined up at midnight to cast their ballots.

NORFOLK, Virginia (CNN) – Voters headed to the polls Tuesday morning in a historic 2008 presidential election, with citizens across eastern United States casting their votes.

People in the isolated New Hampshire village of Dixville Notch cast their ballots just after midnight. The village, home to around 75 residents, has opened its polls shortly after midnight each election day since 1960, drawing national media attention for being the first place in the country to make its presidential preferences known.

Watch: Obama's first win

Democrat Barack Obama won 15 of 21 votes cast, and Republican John McCain won six votes. It was the first time since 1968 that the village leaned Democratic in an election.

Since 1996, another small New Hampshire town - Hart's Location - reinstated its practice from the 1940s and also began opening its polls at midnight. The tally was Obama 17, McCain 10 with two votes written-in for Ron Paul.

Polls opened at 5 a.m. EST in Vermont and 6 a.m. EST in Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. Polls opened at 6:30 a.m. EST in North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia.

Polls were to open at 7 a.m. EST in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Many voters chose to cast their ballots in the days and weeks before the election. With more states allowing voters to cast early or unrestricted absentee ballots this year, the potential for election-day problems have spread to other states now seen as battlegrounds in the race. Registration and absentee ballot issues topped last-minute concerns among voters in the days before Tuesday's presidential election, with one analyst predicting previous flashpoints may cause headaches again this year.

Of the more than 11,000 problems reported to CNN's Voter Hotline so far Monday, the largest number of complaints - more than 1,500 - come from Florida, where a hotly disputed recount settled the 2000 election. Another 450-plus originated in Ohio, where massive election-day turnout delayed the count in 2004.

The biggest complaints were early voting lines stretching for several hours, names that did not appear on voter rolls or absentee ballots that never reached the people who requested them. Similar patterns showed up among callers nationwide.

Broken voting machines were reported at the Penny Packer school in Willingboro, New Jersey, according to Joe Dugan, chairman of the Burlington County Election Board.

He said a mechanic was working on the machines and they are expected to be repaired soon. In the meantime, voters were being given emergency ballots.

(CNN) – Broken machines in Willingboro, New Jersey, have led to disruptions in voting, according to Joe Dugan, chairman of the Burlington County Election Board. Voters at Pennypacker Park Elemenary School have been given emergency paper ballots as a mechanic works on the machines, Dugan said. He added that he expects the machines to be up and running soon.

(CNN) – On the eve of Election Day, amid overwhelming public interest in the presidential race, some voters are being confronted with a sea of election-related misinformation.

Sheila Robinson, a resident of Dayton, Ohio, tells CNN that she received a robo call at her home Monday. The call informed her that Republicans would be voting on November 4 in this year’s general election, and Democrats would be voting on November 5.

That information is incorrect. The Ohio Secretary of State’s Web site is clear: Everyone in Ohio votes Tuesday, November 4.

Laura Jordan of the Montgomery County, Ohio Board of Elections, says she has not received reports of any calls like the one Robinson received. But Jordan also tells CNN that she has received reports of misleading automated calls giving voters incorrect information about the location of their polling places. Voters who call the county board reporting these types of calls are told the correct location for their polling place, according to Jordan.

If you live in Ohio, click here for voter information from the Ohio Secretary of State’s Web site.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at cnn.com/hotline.

Officials from the Virginia State Board of Elections said a computer glitch gave people the wrong information.

(CNN) – Sometimes what seems like a political “dirty trick” is just a simple mistake.

The Virginia State of Board Elections issued a “Rumor Buster” press release Monday in response to reports of misleading robo-calls from multiple locations across the state.

But it turns out that the misinformation was just an accident caused by a computer glitch. “The technology, God bless technology, was incorrectly giving people their polling precincts,” Jean Cunningham, chair of the Virginia State Board of Elections, told CNN Monday. “Highly sophisticated software that went amok.”

Cunningham also told CNN that, in addition to the “Rumor Buster,” corrective phone calls were being made to everyone who received one of the incorrect automated calls.

If you live in Virginia, click here to search for your polling place on the state board’s Web site.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at cnn.com/hotline.

Voters waited in long lines to vote early in Florida.

(CNN) – In the final hours before Election Day, callers to CNN’s Voter Hotline are reporting misinformation that is circulating in some of the battleground states, including some that were intended as jokes.

David Ashley, of Florida, called to report hearing incorrect information broadcast Monday morning on local radio in the Ocala/Gainesville area. After a call into WSKY’s morning show about many Florida residents complaining of not being able to vote early due to long lines, a host on the station’s morning show said “that [Florida Gov.] Charlie Crist had decided because of the voter polling crowds to open the polls on Wednesday for Obama supporters to vote,” Ashley said in his hotline call.

When CNN contacted Ashley, she said that the morning hosts on WSKY often use sarcasm during their program. But, Ashley was concerned that the statement sounded factual, and that less informed listeners might not have realized the statement was incorrect about the date for Election Day.

In response to CNN’s inquiry about Ashley’s call, WSKY allowed CNN to listen to a recording of Monday morning’s broadcast. While the host did state that Florida Gov. Charlie Crist had decided to open polls on Wednesday, November 5 to accommodate supporters of Sen. Barack Obama, subsequent remarks by the two hosts make it clear that the statement was intended as a joke. WSKY would not comment any further.

Tuesday, November 4, is the date for voting in this year’s general election, according to information available from the Florida Division of Elections.

If you live in Florida, click here to go to the Web site for the Florida Division of Elections.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at cnn.com/hotline.

Residents in Georgia have braved long lines during early voting in the state.

(CNN) – Go to work or go to vote? That’s a question voters across the country will be facing Tuesday in the midst of what is expected to be record turnout for voting to determine the next occupant of the White House.

A caller from Georgia reported on CNN’s voter hotline that an employer in Marietta was only giving employees 30 minutes off to vote when state law provided for up to two hours.

CNN contacted the Georgia Secretary of State and was sent the following information about Georgia law:

§ 21-2-404. Affording employees time off to vote

Each employee in this state shall, upon reasonable notice to his or her employer, be permitted by his or her employer to take any necessary time off from his or her employment to vote in any municipal, county, state, or federal political party primary or election for which such employee is qualified and registered to vote on the day on which such primary or election is held; provided, however, that such necessary time off shall not exceed two hours; and provided, further, that, if the hours of work of such employee commence at least two hours after the opening of the polls or end at least two hours prior to the closing of the polls, then the time off for voting as provided for in this Code section shall not be available. The employer may specify the hours during which the employee may absent himself or herself as provided in this Code section.

“Basically, if you report to work at 9 a.m. or after or if you do not work after 5 p.m. or earlier, employers are not required to give you time off to vote,” Whitney Halterman, a Communications Specialist for the Georgia Secretary of State, said in an e-mail to CNN.

CNN contacted the employer mentioned in the hotline call and passed along the information about Georgia law. The employer distributed new information about getting time off to its employees.

If you live in Georgia and have questions about voting, click here to go to the Georgia Elections Division Web site or call 404-656-2871.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at cnn.com/hotline.

(CNN) – Virginia State Police have decided not to file charges against the individual who created and circulated a flyer with incorrect information about the date for voting in this week’s presidential election.

“After a thorough investigation into the origins of a fake election flyer that began circulating in the Hampton Roads region last week, the Virginia State Police have determined no criminal activity occurred and no charges will be filed,” a press release issued Monday said.

The flyer incorrectly stated that Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters should vote November 4 and that Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents should vote November 5. The flyer claims that the separate dates for voting by party were enacted by the Virginia legislature to ease the strain on the polls during high turnout that is expected Tuesday.

But that information is incorrect. Polls in Virginia are open Tuesday, November 4 for everyone, regardless of party affiliation or political leanings.

The Virginia State Police said in a statement that they had determined the flyer had not been created in order to deceive voters. “The flyer has been evaluated as an ‘office joke’ and was not intended as a means of a misinformation campaign targeting registered voters,” they said. The department noted, however, that circulating incorrect information to voters is against the law in Virginia.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at cnn.com/hotline.

A bogus flyer telling Democrats to vote the day after Election Day has been discovered.

(CNN) - Virginia State Police may press charges against the person responsible for a bogus flyer in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area that told Democrats to vote on the day after Tuesday's election, according to the state's Board of Elections.

"It was a joke that got out of control on the internet," says Virginia Board of Elections Secretary Nancy Rodriguez.

The state's official logos appear on the flyer, which started circulating on October 24. It said Republicans and Independents leaning Republican should vote on November 4 - Election Day - and Democrats and Independents leaning Democratic to vote the following day.

It says the change in voting times is due to "larger than expected voted turnout" and says an "emergency session of the General Assembly has adopted the following emergency regulations to ease the load on local electorial (sic) precincts and ensure a fair electoral process."

Communicating false information to voters is punishable as a class 1 misdemeanor under Virginia election law.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at cnn.com/hotline.

Call CNN's voter hotline with your concerns or problems with voting.

NEW YORK (CNN) - Enthusiasm at the polls continued on Sunday with waits for early voting in some states stretching to six hours. The CNN Voter Hotline got calls this weekend from voters awed at the turnout and others frustrated by the wait.

In Columbus, Ohio, 27-year-old Dana Zoladz and four friends gave up after realizing there was a six-hour wait to vote at the Franklin County early voting center at the Veterans Memorial. She said would try again on Election Day.

Her father, Dan Zoladz, told the CNN Hotline that, "Six hours is ridiculous in terms of waiting in line."

The county spokesman, Michael Stinziano, said people began lining up as early as 6:30 a.m., even though voting did not begin until 1 p.m.

"I think it is fair to say that we had a four hour line before we opened the doors," Stinzi said in an e-mail.

In Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, lines were stretching "about two blocks," said Mike West, spokesman for the county election board.

West said the atmosphere in line was upbeat. His voting location opened up an hour earlier than scheduled to accommodate the crowds.

Both counties said anyone in line by the 5 p.m. closing time at would get to vote.

To date, the Hotline has gotten close to 25,000 calls including nearly 6,000 seeking their voting location and over 8,100 have called to tell CNN about an issue they had registering or voting. CNN's partner, InfoVoter Technologies has also transferred 16,000 callers to their local board of elections so they can get answers to their problems.

In Florida, where long lines have been an issue, Cesar Jimenez called the Hotline three hours into his wait.

"I still haven't had an opportunity to vote," Jimenez said from the line up at the Parkland Library in Parkland, Florida. "It seems crazy."

Reached at his home later in the day, Jimenez said he finally voted at 2.p., five hours after he showed up. Despite the long lines, Jimenez said the mood was upbeat.

"Everyone seemed to have an incredible spirit of wanting to vote," he said. "They were having sandwiches brought to them from home and having take-out brought to them."

The Broward County Web site showed wait times between two-and-a-half to six hours at voting locations.

The long lines were a concern for voters in Florida and Ohio, especially elderly voters. Munir Venjenk, 84, told the Hotline he gave up after waiting for an hour on Saturday and finding out he still had two hours to go.

"The lines moved extremely slow," he said. Venjenk said he would wait to vote on Tuesday when more locations would be open.

In Virginia, one caller called to say she waited five and a half hours on Saturday to vote with her mother. But if needed, Virginia has special services for voters over 65 and elderly voters. In some locations, poll workers will even come out to the cars to help them vote without having to get in line.

"It's not fast-food voting," said Susan Pollard of the Virginia State Board of Elections. "It's designed for people who truly need assistance."

Pollard said some locations have buzzers that voters can press to get a poll worker out, or they can call their registrar ahead of time.

Virginia absentee voting ended Saturday.

In Indiana, where there is in person absentee voting until noon on Monday, the turnout has been strong. Close to 557,000 voters had submitted absentee ballots as of this morning, said Jim Gavin, spokesman for the Indiana secretary of state. In 2004, 262,000 absentee voters cast ballots.

"There's been a tremendous amount of interest," Gavin said. He described lines in Marion County as "busy and long."

In California, San Diego voters are waiting up to three hours to vote at the county registrar office, according to CNN affiliate XETV.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, or want to tell CNN about your voting experience, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at CNN.com/hotline.

Watch Josh Levs break down the CNN Voter Hotline

(CNN) - CNN's Josh Levs breaks down how you can report voting problems to CNN.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at cnn.com/hotline.

Call CNN's voter hotline with your concerns or problems with voting.

(CNN) - With just three days to go before Election Day, calls were streaming into the CNN Voter Hotline.

More than 21,500 people have called in to the hotline as of Saturday.

More than 7,300 of them registered a complaint regarding voting issues. The largest number of complaints continues to be issues surrounding registration. With the deadline approaching for submitting absentee ballots, many callers are asking what to do if they still haven't received their forms.

Concerns about vote counting are the third most logged complaint on the line. Many callers also cited long lines and other difficulties at polling locations for early and absentee voting. Problems with voting machines are the fifth most discussed topic on the Hotline.

Watch: An iReporter on the early voting experience

Florida voters have called the Hotline more than any other state's, with many of the calls coming from Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties. Georgia voters have also called in high numbers with complaints about the long lines and other voting location problems.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at cnn.com/hotline.

A caller to CNN's voter hotline will be allowed to vote by secure fax.

(CNN) – When Chawnte Williams, a voter registered in the Denver area, originally called CNN’s voter hotline, the prospects of actually casting an absentee ballot did not look good.

Earlier: Some voters still waiting on absentee ballots

“I applied for an absentee ballot before October 6,” Williams explained in her call. When the ballot did not arrive earlier this week as promised by local election officials in Denver, Williams called to check in “and they had no record” of Williams' request for an absentee ballot. “So, because of somebody’s clerical error, now it looks like I might not be able to vote,” Williams also said on her hotline call.

"I feel like I'm not going to be able to vote and there's no reason why," Williams also told CNN in a telephone interview Thursday.

After making contact with election officials in Denver again on Friday, Williams learned she will be able to vote absentee after all.

“I was informed that I will be able to fill out a write-in ballot and send it to the commission by a secure fax machine,” Williams wrote in an e-mail to CNN Saturday. “Thanks for all of your help,” she added.

CNN estimates that roughly 23 million Americans have already cast ballots in this year’s general election.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at cnn.com/hotline.

CNN's voter hotline has received call from voters who are still waiting to receive their absentee ballots.

(CNN) – With Election Day approaching fast, many voters have called into CNN’s voter hotline to report that they are still awaiting absentee ballots.

CNN got in touch with some of the counties where those calls originated, and has some guidance for voters in those areas.

The deadline for returning absentee ballots in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania has passed, according to information available on the Philadelphia County Board of Elections Web site. Bill Rubin, the Supervisor of Elections for Philadelphia County in Pennsylvania, told CNN the best thing for voters registered in the county to do at this point is to go to the polls in person and vote on Election Day.

Voters waiting on absentee ballots from Palm Beach County, Florida should call Bob Bartelsmeyer, the county’s absentee ballot coordinator, at 561-656-6234. Click here for more about voting by absentee ballots in Palm Beach County.

If you are still waiting on an absentee ballot and you are registered in the City of Chicago, Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, recommends calling the city’s absentee ballot department at 312-269-7967. For more information on absentee voting in the City of Chicago, click here.

If you are registered in suburban Cook County in Illinois and have not received an absentee ballot, Courtney Greve, spokeswoman for the Cook County Clerk, advises calling the clerk’s absentee ballot line at 312-603-0944. For more information about voting absentee if you’re registered in suburban Cook County, click here.

Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters, recommends that voters still waiting on absentee ballots check the status of their ballot request on search engine available at www.lavote.net. Logan also told CNN that early voting is available at the L.A. County Registrar’s Headquarters in Norwalk, California through Monday evening. Click here to read an October 28 press release about early voting in L.A. County. Absentee ballots that have already been received may be returned in person to the headquarters by the time polls close on Election Day or to any polling place on Election Day as well. Click here to read an October 31 press release/update about early voting and voting by mail in L.A. County.

For information on early voting in other jurisdictions, click here for a list of links.

CNN will be tracking voter problems through Election Day. If you have a problem or see a problem, call the CNN Voter Hotline at 877-462-6608. See what issues are a concern in each state by clicking on the interactive Hotline map at cnn.com/hotline.

Sen. McCain toured the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans with his wife, Cindy, in April of this year.

(CNN) - The lingering aftermath of Hurricane Katrina looms large over New Orleans residents this election season. CNN’s Voter Hotline has received several calls from New Orleans residents wondering where to vote, whether former evacuees are still registered, and how to vote absentee after being displaced.

Joseph Harris of New Orleans was confused about whether his temporary displacement after the storm would affect his registration.

“I was calling to make sure I was on the list. I want to make sure my information had been changed back now from Houston where I was evacuated during Katrina, and I just want to make sure I’m able to vote on November 4,” Harris asked on the Hotline.

According to the Louisiana Secretary of State, Katrina’s lingering impact doesn’t extend to the voter rolls. “There has been no purging because people were displaced by Katrina. Basically, they can vote if we have a good address,” said Jacques Berry from the Louisiana Secretary of State office. “If you live in a homeless shelter and have an address, you can register to vote in Louisiana.”

Katrina victims who were displaced and are still planning to vote in Louisiana should call the state’s toll free number, (800) 883-2805. The rules for those displaced by the storm are no different than other residents, Berry said. “There’s nothing specific to them.”

The Hotline has also gotten calls from New Orleans parish voters who haven’t received their absentee ballots. “There’s a good chance that all the absentee ballots are out now. We want all voters to have the opportunity to vote. I am sure all absentee ballots will be out with sufficient time,” Berry said. “We want all voters to have the opportunity to vote.”

If you are a resident in the state of Louisiana who has questions regarding your registration status or where you should go to vote, you can visit geauxvote.com or call 1 (800) 883-2805.

Long lines plagued Georgia polling places this Halloween.

ATLANTA (CNN) – The scariest part of this Halloween for some Atlanta voters is the unprecedented wait time at area polling stations, where heavy turnout and computer problems are leading to delays of 2 to 10 hours.

At a downtown Atlanta location the wait was up to four hours Friday as the line stretched down three blocks according to CNN’s Rusty Dornin, who was in line herself at the location.

And that location isn't even the longest wait for voters in that county. According to Jessica Corbitt of the Fulton County Office of Community Relations, at the Welcome All Center in South Fulton County the wait was five hours long.

Three thousand people have voted at the Adamsville location, according to Beverly Isom, executive aide to Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. Isom told us that those at the front of the line at 4 p.m. had been waiting to vote since 9am, and that hundreds more have signed up and continue to wait in line. Crowds are reported to be orderly and patient - but are weary of the six-hour wait.

As in many jurisdictions, if voters are in line by 7 p.m. then they will be able to vote. Corbitt said “obviously the voting will go long past 7 p.m.”

In DeKalb County, northeast of Atlanta, officials estimated that up to 19,000 people will vote today, as lines at polling stations continue to wrap around buildings and down city blocks. Mary Frances Weeks, administrative assistant to DeKalb County Director of Elections Linda Lattimore, tells CNN that at the dozens of county polling locations the wait is an average of 3 hours. As of yesterday according to Weeks, 134,153 people have cast early ballots in DeKalb County.

The Gwinnett County board of Elections office tells CNN that their longest wait time is up to 10 hours at their Grayson highway location, and an average of five hours at their other four locations.

As turnout continues to race toward record-breaking numbers, Democratic officials continue to press Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel over her decision not to extend early voting hours.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's editorial board criticized the move earlier this week, writing that “state and local election officials should be making every effort to accommodate citizens who obviously want to exercise their country’s most sacred right.”

Handel responded with a Thursday op-ed in the paper affirming her decision. “Georgians can be assured that my office is not going to attempt to change the rules to accommodate the political whims of groups or newspapers less than a week before Election Day,” she wrote.

A number of voters have called in to the CNN Voter Hotline to complain about the long lines in Georgia.

“Vote times in excess of seven hours which is absolutely ridiculous and horrendous,” Mitchell Silvers from Lillburn, Georgia told the Hotline.

Another Gwinnett County caller, Donovan Noble, was worried he wouldn’t be able to get in his vote by the end of early voting on Friday because his voting location was only accepting voters until 4:30 p.m.

“There is no way that all the people out there are going to be able to vote,” said Noble.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - A Pennsylvania judge rejected state Republican party demands to obtain lists of voters registered by the community group known as ACORN.

The state GOP accuses ACORN of widespread fraud in helping register some 140,000 voters in Pennsylvania.

ACORN welcomed the ruling against the Pennsylvania state Republican party, spokeswoman Ali Kronley told CNN Friday, turning the GOP charges back against the party.

"This kind of manufactured crisis is masking their own efforts to keep voters from voting," she said.

The top lawyer representing the Pennsylvania Republicans said they were "disappointed."

But, Heather Heidelbaugh added, the wording of the court order indicates the judge thinks ACORN has problems.

The judge said he would favor "expedited discovery" should someone want to pursue "evidence that in Pennsylvania practices of ACORN Outreach Workers can encourage duplicate voter registration."

The case hinges on allegations that ACORN canvassers are not trained properly, leading to improper voter registrations.

Anita Moncreif, a former ACORN worker, testified Wednesday, describing what she considered a pattern of inadequate training of canvassers, who then were left to face prosecution for bogus registrations.

Moncreif once worked at ACORN's national offices in Washington, DC, but on cross-examination, she acknowledged she had no direct knowledge of ACORN's activities in Pennsylvania.

The judge, Robert Simpson, said the Pennsylvania Republicans failed to convince him of the need for a preliminary injunction that would have required immediate action in the final days before the election.

A top state elections official was critical of the GOP's lawsuit, and issued a statement applauding the judge for refusing to step in.

"The claims were a frivolous attempt to undermine voter confidence in the upcoming election," wrote Secretary of the Commonwealth Pedro Cortis, who was appointed by Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell.

Pennsylvania officials dispute whether the court should be involved.

State elections attorney Albert Masland told CNN during a break in the hearing Wednesday that "there have been a couple of district attorneys in the Commonwealth who have filed charges against people for fraud. That shows the system is working."

"Beyond that," he added, "I think this is really more sound and fury and a whole lot less substance."

ACORN stands for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

ACORN Executive Director Steve Kest announces the group's lawsuits and television spot Wednesday.

(CNN) - Community organization ACORN is fighting back after allegations that it is trying to register voters fraudulently and to swing the presidential election for Democrat Barack Obama.

The group this week released a 30-second TV ad calling on Republican candidate John McCain to stop "attempts at voter suppression across the country."

It also said it was filing several lawsuits around the country to halt the alleged suppression.

Republicans have "challenged election officials and they've filed lawsuits in an effort to thwart these new voters - our citizens - from casting their votes on Tuesday. This effort must be stopped," Delaware ACORN board member Hugh Alleyne said during a news conference Wednesday.

ACORN contends it tried to help authorities head off election fraud.

"In nearly every case that has been reported, it was ACORN that discovered the bad forms and called them to the attention of election authorities, putting the forms in a package that identified them in writing as suspicious, encouraging election officials to investigate, and offering to help with prosecutions," ACORN said in an October 9 release.

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Watch Nevada's Secretary of State talk about early voting.

(CNN) - For some voters, early voting is smooth sailing.  Watch CNN's Tony Harris as he chats with Ross Miller, Nevada's Secretary of State, and his state's appraoch to early voting.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey is dispatching more than 800 federal election observers and monitors to 23 states on Election Day.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Justice Department will deploy more than 800 federal observers and monitors to voting sites in 23 states to make sure voters' federal rights are not violated on election day.

While many of the problems that may occur in what is expected to be a record turnout next Tuesday will come under the purview of state and local officials since they have the primary responsibility for running elections, the federal government is responsible for making sure federal laws are not violated. The primary law in question is the Voting Rights Act, which bans intimidation based on race, color, or religion. The department will also investigate and prosecute cases of voter fraud.

Unlike in years past, the Justice Department announced last month it will not use any criminal prosecutors to monitor elections to allay concerns of some voting rights advocates including them would discourage some from voting.

The observers will come from the Office of Personnel Management while the monitors will be Justice Department employees. Usually the destinations chosen are ones where claims of discrimination have occurred in the past or where there are current allegations.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said the goal of those monitors and observers is to make sure "all Americans who are entitled to vote are able to do so" and also said "The Department of Justice will do all it can to help ensure that elections run as smoothly as possible – and, equally important, that the American people have confidence in our electoral process."

Besides the monitoring effort, staff members of the Justice Department's civil rights division will be manning a toll-free number (1-800-253-3931) where voters can report complaints related to free and fair ballot access as well as investigating incidents reported through DOJ's website. There will be special efforts in all 94 U.S. attorney offices across the nation to deal with any
reports of either voter intimidation or fraud.

The Justice Department monitors will be in 29 jurisdictions, including some that have seen past problems concerning voter access: Duval, Hillsborough and Seminole Counties, Florida; Jefferson and Orleans Parishes, Louisiana; Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as well as ones in Arizona, California, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, NOrth Carolina, New Jersey,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia and Washington state.

Observers are usually sent to areas that have been determined by a federal court or the Attorney General to need such action. They will be positioned in precincts in Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, South Dakota and Texas.

Civil rights advocates have called on the Justice Department to be aggressive in its efforts to protect the rights of voters. Almost 40 representatives of various groups met with the Attorney General and other DOJ representatives last month.

One specific area where the Justice Department says it is prepared to act is concerning identification laws. While the Supreme Court ruled Indiana's photo id law is constitutional, officials also say the civil rights division will act if individuals report such a measure is being applied to them in an illegal or discriminatory way.

Some voters still haven't received absentee ballots.

(CNN) – With less than a week until Election Day, some voters are still anxiously awaiting the arrival of their absentee ballots.

Max Lohrey of La Junta in Otero County, Colorado called CNN’s voter hotline concerned that a missing absentee ballot might have “fallen into the hands of the wrong people . . . is this going to be used for fraud?”

Chawnte Williams, is registered to vote in the Denver area but is currently out of state.  Williams reports that she requested an absentee ballot earlier this month and was informed that it would not arrive until the end of October because of printing problems. When the ballot did not arrive as scheduled, she called to check on it again, and was told by her local election officials that they had no record of her requesting an absentee ballot.

“So because of somebody’s clerical error, now it looks like I might not be able to vote,” Williams said on the hotline.  "I feel like I'm not going to be able to vote and there's no reason why," Williams also told CNN in a telephone interview Thursday.

Colorado voters who still have not received their absentee ballot should visit GoVoteColorado.com and access Colorado’s voter registration search engine, says Colorado Secretary of State spokesman Richard Coolidge. The search engine tracks the status of absentee ballots - including whether they have been mailed out, or been returned to election officials in the mail.

Sharon Sisnroy, the Otero County Clerk, told CNN that voters in her county should call or fax an application for a replacement absentee ballot. Once that request is received, Sisnroy’s office will mail out another absentee ballot. Alternatively, Sisnroy advises, voters can come to the Otero Election Division in person and complete the application for a replacement absentee ballot and then obtain the new ballot in person as well.

Some CNN voter hotline callers from Florida have expressed similar concerns. Dr. Stuart Schwartz of Palm Beach County, Florida tells CNN he hasn’t received a replacement absentee ballot after he had to return the first one mailed to him because it was not the proper ballot for him to use to vote.

A caller who lives in Bahamas also reports that she hasn’t received her absentee ballot from Broward County, Florida, even though she has “been trying for weeks” to get in touch with election officials. “It’s impossible for me to vote without receiving my ballot,” the caller said. “I’m unable to go there in person obviously.”

Florida voters who are still awaiting absentee ballots should call their local supervisor in the county where they are registered, according to Jennifer Davis, of the Elections Division in the Florida Secretary of State’s office.

Click here for links to more information about early voting