But the process of voting in Tuesday’s presidential election — which may set a record for turnout — was relatively smooth, with no reports of catastrophic failures that kept large numbers of people from casting a ballot.
Voters waited as long as seven hours in some precincts in Virginia, and five hours in a mostly black section of north St. Louis County, Mo., as poll workers and machines became overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.
Election officials in Virginia reported lines of up to a half-mile long in Petersburg, 25 miles south of Richmond. In Philadelphia and Detroit, lines stretched over 1,000 people long, while electronic malfunctions were reported in Cleveland and in Kansas City, Mo.
Despite the scattered problems, patient voters held on in their lines, steadfast in their passion to participate, many for the first time, undeterred by rain, sore feet or the long waits.
Voting experts and election officials estimated that about 130 million voters cast ballots, which would be the highest percentage turnout in a century, and would shatter the previous record of 123.5 million people who cast ballots four years ago.