The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

Nearly 12,000 people in Cuyahoga County cast votes illegally on Election Day, without signing the election books or, likely, showing identification as required by a new state law.

In 533 of the 570 voting precincts in Cuyahoga County, more voters cast ballots Nov. 7 than signed in, according to board records.

With some polling places, the numbers were off by more than 100. But the differences at 144 of the locations were fewer than 10 each.

The article does not claim widespread fraud, but instead a simple failure to enforce Ohio's voting rules.

What elections officials said happened is that voters arrived and saw lines waiting to vote.

Officials said that people then just got on the end of the lines, not realizing they had to sign in first.

Then, poll workers assigned to give voters computer cards to operate the touch-screen voting machines failed to make sure that the voters had signed in and showed identification.