Ballot boondoggle in Bridgeport

Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - Twelve out of the 23 precincts in Bridgeport stayed open until 10pm after concerns about ballots not being available. Some polls ran out of ballots not just once, but twice.

Polls normally close at 8pm in Connecticut.

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz says election officials only ordered 21,000 ballots in Bridgeport, far short of the 69,000 registered voters in the city. Some voters turned away in frustration.

A judge made the ruling, which state Democrats sought at the request of Bridgeport's mayor.

Republican State Chairman Chris Healy filed a complaint earlier saying some Bridgeport officials were giving voters photocopied ballots, which did not meet legal requirements. Bysiewicz said the photocopied ballots would be hand-counted in public.

The head of the Bridgeport NAACP told News 8's Erin Cox she intends to investigate the ballot problems.

Also in Bridgeport, the Connecticut Post reports that a city activist took down a sign outside the Wilbur Cross Elementary polling place that read "If you can read this you can vote no matter what."

Rosa Correa says she told the moderator at the poll about the sign, but the sign was not removed. So Correa decided to take it down herself and then she brought it to police.

In New Haven, voter turnout was so high that some walked away without casting their votes, the New Haven Independent reported.

Several voters contacted News 8 to report similar problems in West Haven. The Valley Independent also reported that a polling place in Derby ran out of ballots.