Voting machines that debuted on Sept. 14 caused a few bumps in the Democratic process last week, as poll workers — and voters — adjusted to the new system.

Electronic scanners have replaced the state’s traditional lever voting booths, the norm in New York since the 1960s. The new machines were used for the first time last Tuesday, and reports of problems started almost immediately, with scanners said to be breaking down, sites opening hours past deadline and confused or unprepared poll workers.

“They don’t know what they’re doing,” said Crotona resident Nora Baerga, who voted at Grace Dodge High School, where she said they didn’t have enough pens on hand for voters to fill out their ballots. “I had to use my own pen,” she said. “They could have just gone to the TD Bank down the street and gotten the free pens there.”

Another voter, who wrote in to the Bronx News Network blog, described the scene at MS 80, on Mosholu Parkway in Norwood, as “turmoil.”

“Only one of the scanners was working,” the reader described. “The ‘Captain’ for the site had never showed.  A woman was taking charge who actually seemed to know what she was doing, but the other workers were not paying much attention.”

Even candidates who had their own names on the ballots were worried that the new machines could cause issues. Sen. Pedro Espada was seen visiting poll sites throughout his district on Primary Day, saying he wanted to make sure residents had no trouble casting their ballots.

“We’ve seen some significant problems,” the senator said Tuesday afternoon. “There’s always a concern of disenfranchising voters.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasted the City Board of Elections for the mishaps.  “There is a total lack of accountability for how the Board performed on Election Day,” Bloomberg said at a press conference. “New Yorkers deserve better than this.”

The City Board of Elections did not return calls by press time. But they have until the general election on Nov. 2 to work out all the kinks of the new system.