Experts warn of Election Day meltdown

Experts are warning of possible large-scale voting problems on November 4th. Word? You don't say. Everyone's favorite flip-floppers, Florida and Ohio are back at the forefront of a possible Election Day meltdown. And officials in other states are saying new voting machines may not record votes properly. This seems like the kind of thing we might want to get under control before November 4th. Early voting will help alleviate some of the strain from what's sure to be a record voter turnout. But the last thing anyone wants is to be counting (and re-counting) ballots by hand into the wee hours of the morning. Again.

Full story by Ben Smith and Avi Zenilman at Politico.com:

The likely trouble spots, the experts say, include two familiar election reprobates: Ohio and Florida... But there are also some new entrants. Many pointed, in particular, to Colorado as the possible source of a late night November 4, while others suggested that record turnout in states like Virginia and Georgia could challenge local election officials.

"There's still reason to be concerned in terms of what's going to take place in November," said Kimball Brace, whose firm, Election Data Services, advises local governments on election administration.

Brace cited everything from new machines in Cleveland and South Florida to the rise in absentee voting, many of which are counted by error-prone "optical scan" machines...