Despite concerns that high voter turnout would severely strain the polling system, the November presidential election proceeded relatively smoothly, according to a survey released today by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

However, some voters reported problems with waiting times, absentee ballots, and inconsistent application of election laws, Pew’s Make Voting Work project, in Washington, said in a statement.

Pew has committed more than $20-million since 2000 to fix the nation’s election system, which has been plagued with problems like long lines and machine malfunctions. It said Make Voting Work would spend more than $8-million in 2009 to seek further improvements, in partnership with the JEHT Foundation, in New York.

“With momentum building for reform, now is the time to wrestle with where and how to improve our system based on the insights from voters’ direct experience in navigating it,” said Michael Caudell-Feagan, director of Make Voting Work, which is operated by the Pew Center on the States.

More than nine in 10 people who voted on November 4 (91 percent) said it was easy to find their polling place, 83 percent said the polling place was very well run, and 75 percent said they were “very confident” their vote was counted as cast, according to a survey of 10,000 Americans sponsored by Pew and AARP.

However, the survey, which was conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also found:

• African American voters waited more than twice as long to vote (an average of 29 minutes) than all other voters.

• Only 61 percent of absentee voters said they were very confident their vote was counted as cast, compared with 75 percent of Election Day voters.

• Twelve percent of voters in states that do not require identification to vote said they were asked to present an ID anyway;

• Among those who did not vote, 8 percent did not receive requested absentee ballots, 16 percent had registration problems, and 10 percent could not find their polling place.

The 2009 funding will initially pay for projects to evaluate how early voting and other alternatives to traditional voting at precinct polling places affects turnout, voter satisfaction, security, and administrative efficiency and cost, Pew said.

(See The Chronicle‘s article about foundation spending on election projects.)