Voters needed to use paper ballots in the first hour of voting here this morning after an error by poll workers shut down some electronic voting machines, the Burlington County Elections Superintendent said.
The workers accidently closed out the machines, a procedure done at the end of the day, Superintendent Joanne Nyikita said. Once the machines are closed they can not be reopened. Nyikita said replacement machines were in place at two borough elementary schools, James and Hawthorne, by 8 a.m.

"It was a mistake by board workers," Nyikita said. "It happens once in awhile."

Nyikita said there were plenty of provisional paper ballots for voters to use until the machines were operating.

Early voting suggests a strong turnout in the Garden State. Even Gov. Jon S. Corzine read a newspaper while he waited in line outside his precinct in Hoboken.