For the first time, counties were required to have a verified paper trail and machines for disabled voters at all polling places. Secretary of State Bruce McPherson says the new requirements represent the biggest change we’ve seen in the elections process in US history: 
  
“This is the first election in which its been in place to be followed on a statewide basis and I think the registrars in this county, by and large are meeting this task very well and we’ll be even better at it come November.
 
In Alameda County, officials expected to be counting votes all night long and possibly through the morning.  That’s because they don’t have enough optical scan machines to count the paper ballots faster.