The modem at the central facility malfunctioned, and voters in one precinct weren't able to vote the Democratic ticket on the paperless machines, so they wrote their choices on pieces of paper.*

Election officials said there were no major problems at polls throughout the day.

The only known glitch was at Mount Rainier Elementary School. When polls opened yesterday, nearly a dozen voters were told the machines were not pulling up the Democratic slate.

Linda Couch, a Mount Rainier resident, said poll workers told the voters that because the machines weren't operating properly, they could write down their choice on a piece of paper. Couch said some voters left, saying they would try to come back. Others, like her, wrote their selections down on the paper.