Even an old hand at voting got tripped up by the new paper ballots in Tuesday's General Election.

Robert Starr of Middlesex Township was inducted into the Pennsylvania Voter Hall of Fame this year for voting in 50 consecutive November elections. But he had to fill out a ballot twice at the Middlesex Township Municipal Building.

Administered by the Pennsylvania Department of State's Elections Bureau, the Voter Hall of Fame acknowledges and honors Pennsylvanians who have voted in every November election for at least 50 years.

Starr's extensive experience didn't prevent him from needing a second paper ballot to successfully tally his vote.

“I X'ed the bubbles instead of coloring them in,” he said. “It takes me longer to vote, but I guess it's to keep the Russians out.”

To cast ballots, voters chose their preferences by filling in bubbles on a printed page. To vote, ballots are slid into a machine which reads the ballot, tallies the vote and stores the paper in a locked box.

Joe Terravecchia of Seven Fields was among campaign supporters standing outside Adams Township Precinct 1 Tuesday in Adams Ridge. Terravecchia talked to voters leaving the precinct before voting himself.

According to Terravecchia, the paper ballots caused a problem for some voters.

“They go back to the car and get their glasses,” Terravecchia said. “Some of them think the circles are very small.”

Terravecchia said some voters were also concerned paper ballots might cause long lines at polls, particularly for races such as the presidential election. He personally wanted to know if assistance was available for people who need help seeing.

Most of the concerns are fixable, according to Terravecchia. The paper ballots could be very successful in future elections, if officials are able to address problems now.

“If they identify those types of things,” Terravecchia said.

Jay Hilscher of Middlesex Township didn't think much of the new system.

“I did not like it. It seemed a bit old-fashioned. The electronic system was much faster,” he said.

Valerie Deal of Butler, coming out of the polling station in Hill United Presbyterian Church, said, “With all the technology we have today, it's very inconvenient.”

Bernard Meyers of Middlesex Township didn't have any problem with the paper ballots, saying “it was fine, no problem at all.”

Stephen H. Smieczek of Butler, said of the new voting system, “I liked it. It was darn easy. Most of the time I'm going to vote straight with my party. I'm more of a party voter than an individual voter.”

Tom Hilliard of Butler said, “I don't know, it was kind of weird coloring inside the lines, but if it secures the election process ...”

Melanie Reeger of Butler agreed additional security outweighed any inconvenience.

“ I think it took a little more time. I think it is more secure that way,” she said. “Like, with the old mechanisms, you could get in and change it. This way there is a paper trail.”

Barry Hootman in Adams Township found the paper ballots were acceptable, though not necessarily preferable.

“They were OK,” Hootman said. “I'd rather have electronic (voting).”

Hootman said at least the scanning process prevented hanging chads.

Adams Township voter Jaime Schmitt said the new ballot didn't move her one way or the other.

“I was indifferent,” Schmitt said. “I actually thought it was faster.”

Schmitt said by filling in bubbles herself, she was at least sure her ballot reflected the way she voted.

Dale Bailey of Middlesex Township said it was a case of everything old becoming new again.

“I think it was the first time I ever used one. My friend said it's what they had when I first started voting. I said 'You're older than me then,'” he said.

Dennis McDonough of Middlesex Township was pleasantly surprised by the new system.

“I thought at first I wouldn't like it, but it was a breeze,” he said.

Meyers said he came to the polls because of the Mars school board race.

“Apparently there is some kind of thing where candidates are running as a group. I don't want that,” he said.

Hilscher said he was voting for a friend who was running for the school board.

And a personal stake is what also brought Hilliard to the Butler voting booth.

“I try to vote in every election,” said Hilliard. “But this year I have a personal friend running for city council, so I have some skin in the game.”

Smieszek had a different reason for voting Tuesday.

“I work with a bunch of guys at work and they give me a hard time for not voting,” he said. “They tell me politics starts from the bottom.

“I vote in the presidential and senators elections. I haven't paid much attention to the local races. In five months when I retire I will try to pay more attention.”

Scott Acree of Middlesex Township said it wasn't any one race or candidate that brought him out to vote on a rainy morning.

“I'm just doing my civic duty,” he said.