New Orleans -- provisional ballots
AP reports: A last-ditch effort by voting activists to extend polling hours in New Orleans amid allegations that voters improperly were denied access to electronic voting booths failed Tuesday evening after a judge rejected a request to keep the polls open two extra hours.
The activists had sought an emergency order that would have kept the polls open until 10 p.m. -- two hours past the standard closing time -- so voters could have time to return and cast a full ballot.
Civil District Court Judge Sidney Cates gave no reason for the denial.
Bill Quigley, a lawyer for the Louisiana Election Protection Committee, ... said that, in many instances, voters whose names appeared on the rolls but who were taking part in their first presidential election were told not to use the regular electronic voting booths. They were instructed to fill out provisional ballots, which did not include several state elections. Such ballots were only supposed to be used by those whose names could not be found on the rolls or the secretary of state's master list. -- Activists seek to extend Orleans voting hours