Kevin Caffrey, a 43-year-old school teacher from Denver and a registered Republican, was furious after he was forced to stand in line for more than an hour.

"Every individual who put me in line, I'm voting against them. I've been waiting in line like an animal. This is a nightmare," he said.

In Denver, Colorado, up to 300 people stood outside some polling sites. One was Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter, who waited an hour and 40 minutes.

"It's actually heartening," he said. It means people "understand the process is important enough to be patient and wait in line." Nonetheless, Democratic Party officials asked a judge to extend poll hours because of the delays.

A long ballot and new machines caused the disruptions, according to Colorado secretary of state spokeswoman Lisa Doran. "Despite the training, some of the election judges are intimidated by the machines," she said.

Computer glitches and poll workers' unfamiliarity with the new equipment were also blamed for long lines in such states as Tennessee, South Carolina and Illinois.

In North Carolina, about 100 voters were left waiting at a church because the poll worker who had the key showed up nearly an hour late. In Pennsylvania, a computer programming error forced some to cast paper ballots. In Indiana, 175 precincts also resorted to paper. Counties in those states also extended poll hours to make up for delays.

As of midday, none of the stumbles seemed to signal a voting disaster, said poll watchers.

Nevertheless, some of the mishaps raised the frustration level.

In Cleveland, where some voters in 2004 waited in 14-hour lines, problems with ballot-reading machines caused big delays. For the first time, all 88 counties used electronic voting - either touch-screens or paper ballots that are electronically scanned.

In Kentucky, a poll worker was arrested after allegedly choking a voter and throwing him out of the polling place. The two had argued over a ballot issue.

"That about tops off the day," said Jefferson County Clerk spokeswoman Paula McCraney.

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