Technical issues plagued voting sites throughout California on Tuesday, including in the nation’s most populous county, where long lines and an overloaded new voting system prompted a legal complaint from Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.

Los Angeles County rolled out a $300 million election system that raised concerns about technical and security defects even before glitches caused frustration and confusion at polling places. Sanders asked for voting centers to stay open an extra two hours, saying voters were denied their constitutional right to vote.

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In California, whose primary Sanders went on to win, anyone in line by 8 p.m. can cast a ballot.

Separately, election workers in 15 counties, including Fresno, Napa and Sacramento, faced technical problems connecting to the statewide voter registration database, said Sam Mahood, spokesman for the secretary of state’s office.

He said there was no evidence of malicious activity but did not explain what caused the failure. Mahood also said the secretary of state’s website experienced intermittent outages due to higher-than-normal traffic and that technicians added server capacity.

California is among 14 states that held presidential primary contests on Super Tuesday, and voters in the most populous state also weighed in on congressional races, legislative seats and a statewide school bond.

In Los Angeles County, which has more than a quarter of the state’s 20 million registered voters, electronic pollbooks operated slowly because so many voters were trying to use them at the same time, said Mike Sanchez, a spokesman for the county registrar.

Some locations saw delays of two hours or more, including at the University of Southern California and in Beverly Hills.

The complaint from the Sanders campaign reported a wait exceeding four hours in one location and check-in stations and voting machines that were not working. It requested vote centers stay open until 10 p.m.

Terina Keresoma, a spokeswoman for the registrar’s office, said she could not comment on the complaint other than to say people in line by 8 p.m. would be allowed to vote.

Technicians added more devices in some polling places to speed up lines, the registrar’s office said earlier. There was no indication of security breaches with the pollbooks, which are hooked up to the state’s voter database.

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Long lines in Los Angeles County prompt Sanders complaint
By JANIE HAR
57 minutes ago

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Voters wait on line at a polling station at the University of Southern California on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. Some California voters are waiting in long lines because of technical glitches connecting to the statewide voter database or too many users trying to cast ballots at once. The secretary of state's office said election workers in 15 counties could not connect to the statewide voter registration database on Super Tuesday but that the issues have been resolved. (AP Photo/Stefanie Dazio)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Technical issues plagued voting sites throughout California on Tuesday, including in the nation’s most populous county, where long lines and an overloaded new voting system prompted a legal complaint from Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.