Long lines frustrate Milwaukee voters

MILWAUKEE -- Neil Albrecht, Executive Director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission, said Tuesday, November 6th he expects a second rush of voters towards the end of the workday. He said city polling places opened on time for the large amount of voters waiting to vote.

Voters at Martin Luther King Jr. School on Milwaukee's north side were overwhelmed thanks to a voting machine breakdown. The breakdown increased waiting times to over two hours. Milwaukee Common Council President Willie Hines made an appearance to ask voters to stay patient.

At Milwaukee's Northcott Neighborhood House polling place, Annie Phillips said she was denied registration after she was told she didn't have the proper paperwork. Members of an organization called Common Ground stepped in to help.

"She asked, 'Will you please assist me so that I can register, and I can vote?' and we were able to do that," Keisha Krumm of Common Ground said.

Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf worked with the Election Integrity Task Force. He said there were around a half-dozen requests for law enforcement officials to remove poll observers who violated polling place rules.

"I would say that this is the first time that we`ve had those sorts of requests during an election," Landgraf said.

At last check, those requests did not involve offenses that may compromise vote totals, but Landgraf said he expects more referrals in the days following the election. Landgraf also told FOX6 News it appears as though the task force may be handling fewer referrals than it did during the 2008 presidential election.

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