Misfed ballots in Cranston and incorrectly printed ballots in Smithfield delayed a final statewide tally of votes, and an anthrax scare at a polling place in East Providence prompted a four-hour lockdown in the early afternoon, capping a day of election-related confusion in the state.

Joseph A. DeLorenzo Jr., chairman of the Cranston Board of Canvassers, said that an undisclosed number of write-in ballots were inadvertently double counted by a poll worker at Santa Maria DiPrata Society on Walnut Grove Avenue. That forced the state to hold off counting the precinct until today, according to Frank J. Rego, vice chairman of the state Board of Elections. In Smithfield, election officials realized very early on yesterday that the wrong ballots had been printed for the election to include the name of Democrat Richard A. DiIorio, who had dropped out of a Town Council race.

According to the secretary of state’s office, the printing company hired by the state mistakenly used the earlier proof that included DiIorio’s name.

The incorrect ballots were immediately rejected by the computerized scanners. New ballots arrived at polling locations by about 11 a.m. The misprinted ones had to be manually recast by Board of Elections workers on a new ballot and counted. Board of Elections Executive Director Robert Kando said that the full results in Smithfield, a town of about 21,000 residents, would likely not be known until Wednesday morning.

At the Montessori School on Grove Avenue in East Providence, the polls stayed open an extra hour last night. The school was closed at 11:30 a.m. when a poll worker touched a white substance on the floor and developed a rash.

The 48-year-old female worker was decontaminated at the scene and taken to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence; her status was unclear as of last night.

About 12 people, including a few voters, were detained in the building. The substance was deemed non-hazardous and sent to the University of Rhode Island for testing.

Elsewhere in the state, voter turnout was heavy at times but well-managed, according to election officials and voters.

A special polling location at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, for example, saw a massive turnout –– some 5,400 total votes by 8 p.m. –– but voters reported that lines moved quickly.

“I walked in expecting a [Department of Motor Vehicle] experience,” said Peter Hayes, a 19-year-old sophomore from Brown University. “We were in and out in no more than five minutes.”

––With staff reports from Kate Bramson, Maria Armental and Michael McKinney

pmarcelo@projo.com