Touch-screen machines brought in to replace the punch-card ballots at the center of the 2000 presidential fiasco appeared to work smoothly in primary voting Tuesday

Touch-screen machines brought in to replace the punch-card ballots at the center of the 2000 presidential fiasco appeared to work smoothly in primary voting Tuesday, in a crucial test for Florida less than three months before the November election. As of late Tuesday afternoon, Secretary of State Glenda Hood said her office had no reports of major problems, even in the most populous counties and those hit hardest by Hurricane Charley. Concerns have centered on the ATM-style touch-screen voting machines that are used in 15 counties and which critics argue are vulnerable to tampering and glitches. But Yvonne Galore, of the Broward County community of Pembroke Pines, liked her touch-screen experience "because the paper was confusing, honestly," she said. "This introduces more color and clarity." Election rights groups placed poll monitors and on-call attorneys at scattered precincts to take statements from people who did have problems, such as 33-year-old Miami resident Blas Lopez. Lopez had no problem with the machine, but a poll worker gave him a nonpartisan ballot even though he is a registered Democrat. "No matter how sophisticated the system is, it's only as strong as the poll workers," said Lopez, who realized the mistake only after voting and was then unable to vote in the Democratic Senate primary.