Low Turnout For Primary; Scattered Problems At Polling Places

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Turnout at Chicago area polling places has been slow for Tuesday's primary election, though there have been a handful of typical problems at the polls that might keep some sites open late.

Voters have faced few lines at most Chicago and suburban polling places.

Some polling places opened late due to problems with staffing or equipment. In some cases, voters wouldn't have noticed the early problems, because none showed up until the problems were fixed.

City election officials said for any polling place with a significant delay before opening, they would seek a judge's permission to keep the polls open late.

Power temporarily went out at two precincts in the 29th Ward on the West Side, but voting resumed later Tuesday morning.

The polling place at the Swedish American Museum in Andersonville had to be relocated, because the water tower on the building was damaged by the cold weather, and posed a danger.

At one polling place in the Gold Coast neighborhood, there was a glitch with new electronic poll books, forcing election judges to reboot the machines. However, judges still had the older binders with registration records as a backup.

Outside the Gold Coast polling place, Antonio was trying to get signatures for a petition to require term limits for elected officials in Illinois, but hasn't had much success thanks to the low turnout.

"I think, probably, after school gets out, and stuff like that, it will probably pick up again,"

There have been some reports of altercations involving election judges, some requiring police intervention. A judge in Oak Park complained about being threatened by a resident at a senior center.

One candidate for state representative told police someone flattened a tire on his car, but police said it appeared to be the result of hitting a pothole.