UPDATE: The Denver Post reports that several voters were turned away from Columbine Library in Littleton, which is in the Republican-heavy area of south Jefferson County, this morning after poll workers were unable to find their names on the voter rolls.  According to Jim Mitchell of Littleton, who has been voting at the site for years, “apparently they [had] the wrong registration book.  We have to go to a different place.”

Several voters left and plan to vote later because the lines were so long.  The Peak will keep you updated about the turnout and any election results.  Stay tuned!

Polls have hardly opened for election day voting and already there have been reports of election day irregularities in Pueblo and Denver.

Yesterday, reports surfaced that voting machines in Pueblo are “switching” votes from Obama to Romney, prompting an audit from the Colorado Secretary of State’s office.  While the audit failed to unearth any malfunctions, the auditors found that the machines’ sensitive touch screens were susceptible to user error.  According to the Pueblo Chieftain:

“…with both Republican and Democratic observers using the machines, it was clear that voters must be careful in touching the electronic screens in order to vote for their intended candidate for president.”

Meanwhile, in Denver, some voters are receiving letters saying that their signatures must be verified, a practice, which Denver Elections spokesman Alton Dillard called a “voter protection”.  Nonetheless, according to KDVR, some voters questioned the safeguard:

“Jacqueline Long was excited to mail in her ballot, but then she got a letter in the mail saying she had a signature discrepancy.  “My signature has not changed,” she said.  She had to fill out a signature affidavit and mail in a copy of her ID, and she found it peculiar, but election officials say that is a normal part of the election process.”

Finally, some Colorado County Clerks have come under fire for threatening to shut down their offices at midnight tonight, regardless of whether all votes are counted.  The Denver Post noted that some County Clerks like Wayne Williams in El Paso County and Nancy Doty in Arapahoe County have contingency plans should vote counting take a long time.  Others, like Adams County Clerk Karen Long and Larimer County Clerk Scot Doyle plan to send their employees home around midnight and continue on Wednesday.

As the Denver Post editorial noted:

“We realize that in the grand scheme of things, making the world wait while a few county clerks and their troops get some well-deserved rest will not change the course of history. But it hardly seems too much to ask that once every four years they brace themselves for an all-night affair.”

It could be worse, Colorado could be like Nevada where allegations have surfaced that unions are “pressuring” illegal immigrants to vote.