MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Election Administrator Linda Phillips said things went smoothly - for the most part - for the start of Election Day for local, state and federal races.
Phillips reported few lines at precincts throughout the morning rush and a few minor equipment issues which were resolved by technicians. Those included a few machines which printed slowly.
Phillips reported 10,300 voters at 10 a.m., which is on par with her prediction of 40,000 voters on Election Day. More than 86,000 in Shelby County voted during early voting.
The election administrator cautioned the full results may take a little longer to come in Thursday evening, because of the length of the ballot and the time it takes to record the voters.
"It is a very long ballot and for that reason it takes longer for the memory cards to upload because there are so many races on each card. So we are currently thinking, typically, a normal election, it would take 2 or 3 minutes - these will probably take more like 4 to 5 minutes and there's 1400 of them. So we are just really anxiously awaiting the new equipment because what typically takes 3 to 5 minutes on the old equipment, takes 30 seconds on the new," Phillips said Thursday afternoon.
This will be the last election with the current election equipment, which has been in place for more than a decade.
Brad Broders is checking into precincts across Shelby County, including the hotly contested Shelby County District Attorney race. He will have live updates at 5 and 6 on ABC24.