Reports of voting problems have poured into election watchdog groups, mostly from voter machine malfunctions and long lines from what is expected will be a record turnout.
Dearborn's City Clerk Kathleen Buda reassigned an elderly poll worker at Precinct 8, Maples Elementary School, after receiving complaints that he was intimidating Muslim voters. A woman in the clerk's office said the incident was a misunderstanding.
The man, whom the clerk's office declined to identify, is in his late 80s and has served as a long-time poll volunteer without previous complaint. But, he is hard of hearing and was "rude" to voters, according to a woman in the clerk's office. The man was given a different job at the polls this afternoon with less voter contact.

Advertisement

Police in Pontiac and Southgate allegedly scanned the long lines outside some precincts looking for people wanted on criminal warrants, said Bradley Heard, a Washington D.C. attorney, in Detroit at a voter watchdog command center, taking telephoned complaints from throughout the region. Heard is a volunteer with the Washington D.C.-based Advancement Project, working today with the Michigan ACLU's Election Protection Effort.
"We have not independently confirmed this, but a polling place this would cause an intimidating, chilling effect," Herad said. "It would be inappropriate."
Police in Pontiac arrested a voter on an outstanding warrant after an officer recognized and pulled a wanted felon out of the line to vote, said a police spokesman who called it an isolated incident.
Southgate Police Lt. Brian Ochmanek said officers had been assigned to patrol near the city's half dozen polling places, but none were engaged in searching for the wanted. He said no arrests have been made today.
"We have had guys assigned to make sure people obey the rules as far as standing 100 feet outside the polling places and not handing out fliers and stuff," Ochmanek said. "We have only been driving by and making sure everything is OK."
Heard said other calls he has received concern mostly polling places that have been overwhelmed by the turnout. He said the line outside Beth Eden Baptist Church in Detroit was estimated to be more than five hours long.
"We have placed inquiries with the city clerk in hopes of getting some relief over there" Heard said. "The problem at the church is more than just from the high turnout, but also poor recourses. There were not enough poll workers and those who were there weren't able to process the voters. This is causing voter frustration and may cause some to not vote."
The NAACP reports malfunctioning voter machines multiple Michigan precincts statewide have caused long waits and in some cases, people gave up waiting and left without voting.
OurVoteLive.org reported by 3:30 p.m. that it had received almost 30,000 reports of voter irregularities nationwide, mostly due to faulty or inadequate voting equipment. The watchdog group also had received 382 complaints nationally of alleged voter intimidation.