A slower slog at the polls this year

As a resident of Pasadena, I was blessed to spend only 40 minutes in line waiting to vote ("Officials investigate complaints of long lines," Nov. 8). Of course, this was at 3 p.m. on Election Day.

I can only imagine the wait after the standard work day ended. Even so, the wait was 30 minutes longer than during the 2000 election, when the county used optically scanned ballots that allowed everyone who had checked to complete the ballot before taking the few minutes necessary to feed it into the machine.

Sadly, the state chose to "improve" the system, creating a situation in which I witnessed several voters who were at the machine when I arrived still there when I left 40 minutes later.

Anita Heygster