Early voting for the US presidential election began in Florida today as activists urged people to opt for early ballots to avoid a repeat of the 2000 election fiasco, but computer problems and long lines soon emerged.
With memories still fresh of 2000, when the race in the key battleground state was so close it triggered weeks of recounts and lawsuits, black and elderly voters in particular lined up to cast ballots two weeks before the November 2nd election.
More than two dozen states offer "no excuse" early voting by either mail or in person, meaning voters do not have to give a reason.
Some states, such as Nevada, Iowa and West Virginia, have already begun. Texas, Arkansas and Colorado also started today.
In Florida, the process was far from seamless. In Broward County, north of Miami, supervisor of elections Ms Brenda Snipes said a computer connection went down, preventing nine ballot stations from accessing a database to find out which one of the county's 152 different ballot styles each voter should have.
"It's a hiccup, it's a bit more than a hiccup," Ms Snipes told the Sun-Sentinel newspaper.
In Orlando people were kept waiting for more than two hours by a combination of long lines and computer malfunctions that prevented poll workers from verifying the names and addresses of voters.
In Miami-Dade, poll workers appeared overwhelmed by the hundreds brought to the government center by a rally of trade unions, voter activists and Democrats, and the line to cast an early ballot moved achingly slowly.
Voting rights activists and Democrats have been highly critical of the state's elections division, run by Ms Glenda Hood, a Republican appointed by the president's brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
A string of lawsuits on issues such as the lack of a paper trail for touch-screen systems are before the courts. But Republicans also urged people to vote early to avoid long lines amid an anticipated heavy turnout. "You'll feel better on November 2nd knowing your vote was already cast," President Bush's campaign said in an e-mail to supporters.