A Republican-controlled House subcommittee tabled most of the bills, which means they likely won't return in the six-week legislative session that started Wednesday. Similar bills have failed in past years.
Republicans argued that the 17 excuses people can use to cast an absentee ballot before an election already address the conflicts people may have.

A judge has ordered the Santa Fe County Clerk to allow registered voters who requested absentee ballots but have not yet received them to vote in the early-voting process.

But because early voting ends at 6 p.m. today, the order's effect will be short-lived.

Despite efforts to reduce long lines and voting irregularities on Election Day, thousands of voters this week have been waiting in line for hours at Washington, D.C., Election Board headquarters to cast ballots in person after requested absentee ballots failed to arrive before the voting deadline. 

Roger Belozier, a veteran and retired postal worker from Berkeley County, experienced problems with electronic voting machines when he went to vote early in the Martinsburg courthouse.
"I reviewed my vote to make sure it was a straight Democratic ticket. But it switched my vote to Republican candidates five different times. I was able to cancel out the Republican votes.
"But I am scratching my head. Why did the machine switch my votes five different times? I asked someone to come over and explain it to me," Belozier said on Wednesday.

It seems that, when someone votes for the presidential candidate, the summary page shows only the first three letters of the candidate’s first name.
In Democrat Barack Obama’s case, that would be “BAR.”
The confusion comes because another presidential candidate is Bob Barr, whose name on the summary page should show “BOB.” The summary page of all the selections comes up before the voter actually casts his or her vote.

Voters claim they tried to vote for McCain for President but the machine checked Obama instead.
At least three voters encountered the problem when casting their early ballot on Saturday morning. Franklin Boroughs says he intended to vote for Republican but rather the computer had checked the Democratic candidate instead.
Wanda and Barney Blasingim similarly said they tried to vote for McCain but the machine switched the vote.

Fortunately, the lines were slightly shorter and the problems were limited to two of Duval County's 15 early voting sites: the Highlands Library on Dunn Avenue and the Pablo Creek Library on Beach Boulevard.
 
But as the day progressed, the lines moved quicker and election officials think they figured out why the vote scanners were rejecting ballots.

Turnout was heavy at polling sites in Santa Fe and Albuquerque as early voting started Saturday.

In fact, waiting times were so long at a south-side Santa Fe location that some people who wanted to cast their ballots ahead of the Nov. 4 election gave up and left.

And people who tried to vote downtown at the Santa Fe County administration building on Grant Avenue found the front doors locked Saturday and a sign posted that blamed the Secretary of State's Office for misinformation mailed to voters about that site.

SAN ANTONIO -- While early voting begins Monday, thousands of Bexar County residents can begin their voting as soon as they receive their mail-in ballot, although some are finding the ballots confusing.

Barbara Steele said she was very excited to learn she was eligible for a mail-in ballot, but she said she found the instructions confusing. One note -- No. 4 -- stated ballots should be completed using only the marker provided.

The problem? No marker or writing instrument was included with the ballot.