Japan's first experience with electronic voting did not go as smoothly as planned Sunday — some voters encountered system-related problems in the mayoral and city assembly poll in Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, local election administration commission officials said.
Voting started in from 7 a.m. at 43 stations, but about 15 voters at a polling station in northeastern Niimi were not able to receive voting cards due to errors in the startup procedure of the machines, they said.
The voters were forced to wait about 40 minutes before they were able to make their choices on the machines featuring touch-type panels, the officials added.