WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. elections officials are concerned that voter unfamiliarity with new voting technology could turn this year's congressional election into a disaster.
The concern grows out of such experiences as that of Maryland, where voters in some polling places had to wait hours in long lines in last Tuesday's primary election, the Washington Post reported.
"We know the equipment works because it's been qualified to federal standards," said Kevin Kennedy, head of the Wisconsin State Elections Board and president of the National Association of State Election Directors. "The real challenge is to make sure our poll workers are trained and make sure voters have been educated so that we don't have an experience like Maryland had."
The Help America Vote Act, designed to prevent a repeat of the Florida debacle in 2000, mandates the switch to electronic machines. The machines will be in use for the first time in one-third of U.S. precincts in November.
Both parties appear more willing to go to court over elections. That could be especially true this fall with control of Congress at stake, the newspaper said.
