In New Jersey, though, e-mailed ballots may swing local elections that sometimes are decided by a handful of votes, said Matt Blaze, a professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. If the losers challenge the integrity of e-mail voting, that may result in contested elections, he said.
"You never want to make such a significant change so close to the election, or on the eve of the election," J. Alex Halderman, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan, said in a telephone interview. "It's a recipe for more chaos, unfortunately."
Confusion cropped up across the region, where many places still lack power one week after the Atlantic superstorm knocked out power to more than 8 million customers. Almost 974,000 were without electricity in the Northeast.
"Things are somewhat hectic in the metropolitan area now as we're recovering from the storm and that's going to be reflected at the polling places," New York's Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a Manhattan briefing today.
Shaky System
William Biamonte, the Nassau County Board of Elections's Democratic commissioner, said the body is "rushing to get heating elements and lights" for the final hours of voting.
"These have been less than optimal conditions," he said.
Mike Jones, a polling coordinator at Leo F. Giblyn elementary school in Freeport, Long Island, said the system was functioning tenuously.
"My biggest fear now is that the scanners will break down, and who knows where the technician is, or if he's got gas," he said.
Meanwhile, residents tried to adjust to a democratic apparatus remade on the fly. Cuomo issued an order yesterday allowing residents to vote outside their districts.