Some snags reported in early voting in rural Nevada county

ASSOCIATED PRESS   26 October 2004

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Some voting booth printers have malfunctioned, but an official in rural Nye County said no ballots had been lost during early voting.

County Clerk Sam Merlino told the Las Vegas Review-Journal for a Tuesday report that her office has received some complaints about misfeeds and jams on vote receipt printers connected to touch-screen voting machines.

Voter Kathleen Church, 57, said she was frustrated she was not able to refer to the paper receipt to check her votes. She said several other people at a polling station in Pahrump had the same problem.

"Out of all the times I've voted I think this is the most important," Church told the Review-Journal. "Now I'm afraid my vote for president wasn't counted."

Merlino insisted all votes have been tallied.

About 3,600 of 19,200 registered voters in the sprawling Nevada county had cast ballots as of Monday, not including absentees, county officials said.

Early voting began Oct. 16 in the county seat of Tonopah and continues there through Thursday.

Four days of early voting have ended in Pahrump. The city, 60 miles west of Las Vegas, is home to about 30,000 people, or three-quarters of the county population.