Voting is messy in a corner of South Philly

The voting was messy Tuesday morning at Guerin Recreation Center in South Philadelphia.

A dispute over who should be signing in voters from one division in the 48th ward led one judge of elections to storm out, saying he had quit.

 
The resulting drama was just one source of delay at the polls.  
 
Supporters of both presidential candidates also expressed frustration with what they described as widespread disorganization.  Joe Mirarcha, a registered independent, said he was concerned about the obstacles he faced in trying to cast a vote for Mitt Romney.

 
“We’ve actually approached three different polling places in this one area, and we’ve been misdirected,” said Miracha. “We’ve stood in line for about 45 minutes and have been attempting to vote . . . I think there’s total confusion.”  
 
Other voters complained about voting machines not functioning properly.  And frustrated South Philly resident Frank Turner said his supplemental ballot had not yet arrived at the polling place, so he was told he’d have to come back later to cast his vote for Barack Obama.
 
“I heard some people complaining about how disorganized it was here, and I chuckled and thought it was funny until it happened to me,” said Turner.