Middletown voters cast their ballots Tuesday morning during Connecticut’s primary election at Snow Elementary School on Wadsworth Street. According to a moderator’s tally, 50 of the district’s 1,078 eligible Democratic voters had turned out by 11:30 a.m.

MIDDLETOWN — Some tabulator machines became inoperable during Tuesday’s primary due to the hot conditions inside city schools without air conditioning, according to the registrar’s office.

Parts of southern Connecticut were under a heat advisory Tuesday ue to the heat index values in the low 100s, according to the National Weather Service.

The temperature in Middletown had reached 93 degrees by noon, with high humidity, making it feel as if it were 103 degrees outdoors, data showed.

The ballots were being placed into the side of the tabulator into a bin, where they will be counted with a new machine once it cools down, according to Republican Registrar David Bauer.

He said the machines are more than 10 years old and some of the parts, in particular rubber components, have trouble working during extremely hot conditions.

Such was the case at Macdonough and Spencer elementary schools, among others, Bauer explained.

“I’m not sending a replacement while it’s still an oven and turnout is low,” he said.

The registrar likened the tabulator breakdowns to issues that arise while trying to work on an outdated laptop.

Bauer said it’s “sad” that, when people see these sorts of problems at the polls, they suspect wrongdoing.

“As soon as they see us putting ballots in the side, they think something’s up,” he said.

Bauer said he’s confident in his decision to hold off on bringing in replacement tabulators.

“We have to account for every ballot — not used, spoiled and otherwise,” he said.

Turnout was expected to be low for the primary similar to other locations around Connecticut.

Cassandra Day is an award-winning multimedia journalist and resident of the North End of Middletown who has been reporting nearly every facet of the city for over two decades.