Election officials are scrambling to ensure that problems that delayed some voting and ballot-counting in Saturday's primary election do not plague the general election six weeks from now.

The state had hundreds fewer poll-workers than needed on election day, and some polling places opened late because scheduled workers did not show up.

The release of initial election results was slightly delayed because dozens of precinct officials did not immediately call to certify that their polling places had closed at 6 p.m., even though no voters remained there, according to state voter services coordinator Rex Quidilla.

By law, results can't be released until all polling places are closed. The first results, which included most absentee ballots, were ready by 5:43 p.m. but weren't released until nearly two hours later.

And near-final voting results — traditionally released before midnight on election day — were delayed until 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning because it took much longer than expected to merge and audit data from two types of polling machines, Quidilla said.

"It was excruciatingly slow," he said. "We're always looking for accuracy rather than expedience, but this time it took much longer than anticipated."

The state told the vendor that handles the data to make sure the process is faster for the Nov. 7 general election, Quidilla said.

"This was unfortunate, and we're looking to improve for the general election," he said. "The key thing that must change is the speed."

TWO DIFFERENT VENDORS

The state uses two types of polling machines: one that records regular paper ballots, and electronic machines designed for disabled voters, which were added in 2002. Each type is supplied by a different vendor and requires a different process for certifying data, which must then be merged, Quidilla said.

The count that was released at 1:30 a.m. was much more comprehensive than counts that were released earlier in previous elections, he said.

"We had a huge chunk of data in that 1:30 report, much earlier than we normally do, but by 1:30 ... there was no reporter to televise the results," he said.

Final results weren't ready until 10 a.m. Sunday because a single electronic voting machine controller was inadvertently locked in Waipahu Intermediate School, and a person with the key could not be immediately located, Quidilla said.

The machine in question had recorded only eight votes, but official results could not be certified without it, he said.

It's still unclear exactly how many poll-workers failed to show up on election day, but the state was short by up to 300 workers even before that, mostly on O'ahu, Quidilla said.

Polling places normally open at 7 a.m. A few were delayed, but all 353 were open by 8 a.m. despite the staff shortage, he said.

"We're going to fill all those pukas to get ready for the general election," he said.

The state normally needs 3,600 poll-workers, who attend training and are paid from $85 to $175 for their help on election day, depending on their responsibilities, he said.

The short-staffing forced some workers to assume responsibilities they had not been trained for, and they put in a "herculean effort" and are much appreciated, Quidilla said.

"Overall, things went very well," he said. "It's a huge operation with a lot of moving parts."

Kitty Lagareta, a political adviser to Gov. Linda Lingle who oversees official poll-watchers for the Republican Party, said the process of recording voting data has grown too convoluted.

"I think this was a huge issue, and it makes me angry at the Office of Elections," she said.

HEATED ARGUMENTS

Annelle Amaral, Honolulu County chair of the Democratic Party, said there were several heated arguments on election day between poll-watchers she coordinated and some poll-workers who didn't seem to understand their responsibilities.

"There were a lot of poorly trained, poorly prepared precinct chairs," Amaral said. "I have reason to worry about the general election."

Elwin Spray, chair of the state's official election observers, said part of the problem is that poll-workers can't be recruited on a long-term basis.

"As citizen volunteers, they come with different levels of strengths and abilities," he said.

Neither political party seems able to recruit the number of poll-workers they were once able to, as many voters and activists become more attached to specific candidates than parties, Spray said.

The most important thing is that votes are recorded and counted accurately, and the integrity of the voting process is protected, he said.

"There's always different places where there are rough edges, but I am quite frankly more happy with this election than the one two years ago," he said.