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Trouble getting enough voting machines to Guilford County could make voters wait in longer lines in the Nov. 4 general election.

Record registration and early voting turnouts for the spring primary are funneling to an open presidential election that could send an enormous number of voters to polls.

To prepare, Guilford County planned to buy 1,450 electronic voting machines from the only state-approved vendor. Now, it appears likely that nearly 6 percent of those machines may not get here.

The vendor, Election Systems & Software, told the county that those machines may not be available.

"I assumed that it wasn't going to be a problem. Obviously it was," said George Gilbert, Guilford County's elections director. "It's a manageable problem, but not desirable."

Fewer voting machines means polling locations may get backed up more quickly.

"We're trying to make sure that it's no more than 20 or 30 minutes," Gilbert said about the time it takes a person to vote, "and not two hours."

In 2006, Gilbert figured that the county needed 1,400 to 1,500 voting machines for this year's election.

The county's first delivered order for 1,000 machines cost about $3.4 million, Gilbert said. Guilford County has sought to build its stock of machines over time, but after its most recent order of 181, the county was told that only half may be delivered.

"There's not an unlimited supply of voter terminals, and we are working to meet it as best as we can," said Ken Fields, a spokesman for the Nebraska-based voting machine manufacturer. Fields mentioned that the request, which was submitted in July, may have been too late to fill.

Gilbert, who e-mailed the company about the machines on July 17, said he wasn't aware of any order deadlines.

No money has been given to the company without receiving any units, Gilbert said. In June, Guilford County commissioners budgeted $614,495 in the 2008-09 budget for the order. Fields said he's not aware of the issue occurring with other jurisdictions in the United States.

The county may receive just 95 machines from that request. Short of voting machines, Guilford County is looking at borrowing from other North Carolina counties.

Gary Bartlett, the state elections director, also is working on a resolution to the shortfall of voting machines.

"I am hoping that this is a nonissue soon," Bartlett said, "and we are in communication."

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com