A look at election problems

A look at problems at the polls in recent elections.

2000

_The outcome of the presidential election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore was delayed for weeks because of problems with punch card ballots in Florida. A recount and protests went all the way to the Supreme Court before Bush was declared the winner of the state _ and the presidency.

_Several groups alleged that black voters were kept from voting in Florida and other states on Election Day and that ballots of others were systematically discarded.

_Some Hispanic voters in Florida also alleged that they were wrongly required to produce two kinds of identification and were confused by their ballots.

2004

_In the race between Bush and Democrat John Kerry, there were claims of voting problems, especially in Ohio. Complaints included limited access to voting machines, difficulties finding proper voting precincts and the accuracy of vote totals in precincts using electronic machines.

_During the March 2 presidential primary, machines that determine which ballots voters receive malfunctioned in about one-third of the precincts in California's San Diego County, and officials there say a lack of paper ballots may have disenfranchised some voters.

2006

_Democrat Christine Jennings asked the House to overturn the November election results that sent Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan to Washington by 369 votes in Florida's 13th Congressional District race. Jennings claimed that Sarasota County's ATM-style voting machines failed to count up to 18,000 votes in the race. Florida's secretary of state said last February that an audit of the voting machines found no evidence of malfunction.