by Frank James
The closer we get to Election Day, the greater the concerns about whether polling places will be able to handle the expected crush of voters in next week's historic presidential election.
Democrats appear much more concerned about the polling-place meltdowns that could be caused by very long lines, especially since heavy voter turnouts traditionally favor Democrats over Republicans, especially when minority voters show up in huge numbers.
Christopher Edley Jr., dean of the Berkley Law School and an adviser to Sen. Barack Obama, has a Washington Post op-ed piece in which he outlines the concerns.
Suppose in your neighborhood there are 600 registered voters per machine, while across town there are only 120 per machine. (That's a 5 to 1 disparity, which is what exists in some places in Virginia today.) On Election Day, your line wraps around the block and looks to be a four-hour wait, while in other areas lines are nonexistent.
This ought to be a crime. It amounts to a "time-tax" on your right to vote, and some of your neighbors will undoubtedly give up and go home. This scenario raises three questions: Nationwide, will it discourage tens of thousands, or untold millions? Which presidential candidate and down-ballot candidates might benefit from this "tax"? And what can be done in the next few days?
Voting rights advocates, watching this slow-motion train wreck that could disenfranchise so many minority voters, have filed emergency litigation in Virginia and Pennsylvania demanding that, at the very least, officials be prepared with plenty of paper ballots and reserves of competent poll workers. More litigation may follow elsewhere.
Judges can hold official feet to the fire, but they shouldn't have to. Assigning blame -- whether the fingers are being pointed at Congress or the Justice Department, county registrars or state legislators -- isn't crucial this week. Neither is this the time to focus on the reasons for failure -- whether indifference, incompetence, indolence or animus. What's crucial is that state and local officials nationwide salvage the situation by implementing second-best strategies: For starters, redistribute machines on the basis of voter registration, instead of assuming that minorities won't show up. Stockpile paper ballots, under lock and key, and offer a paper ballot voting option if wait times reach 45 minutes. Train platoons of reserve poll workers and stand by to shuttle them where they are needed. Commit right now to holding the polls open late if necessary. Advertise what you're prepared to do. For heaven's sake, a lot of people bled for this opportunity.
Election officials in many jurisdictions have been taking steps to prepare what's expected to be a tsunami of voters, including doing some of the things Edlin calls for.
But the projected problems go beyond having enough machines or backup paper ballots.
Last week, the Pew Center on the States' voting research center, Electionline.org, published a report that suggested that the problems we can expect to see a week from today will have a lot to do with the changes made in reaction to the disastrous 2000 election.
Always adding volatility to the mix are the issues of voter ID and provisional ballots.
Indiana, Georgia and Florida remain the only states that require a photo ID to cast a ballot (those without can cast provisional ballots) while 18 other states require that residents show some form of ID, with or without a photo.
Tova Wang of Common Cause and Edward Foley of the Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law have warned that provisional ballots, and the variety of state rules that govern them, may be the hanging chad of 2008.
Another part of the equation is voting systems. Several states have made the switch from electronic to paper ballots since 2004 including, most recently, Florida.
The roll-out of paper ballots in Florida was relatively smooth in all counties but one -- Palm Beach. There, nearly 3,500 ballots went missing between the initial count on election night 2008 and a follow-up recount.
The ballots were eventually found, but questions remain about the ability of some counties to handle the upcoming election.
Other localities have had difficulties with their voting systems as well, most recently, the Washington, D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics which led to election night chaos during a September 2008 primary and calls for an investigation by the city's Attorney General and Council.
Though some states are making the switch to paper ballots after lawmakers and citizen groups took issue with electronic voting, other states including Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina and Utah will have e-voting systems that do not offer individual paper ballot records.
Doubts still linger about electronic voting machines. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) reported that it would not be able to certify some voting systems by the November election so leading manufacturers and election officials say they are forgoing important software modifications meant to address security and performance concerns.
The message is fairly clear from all this. If you plan on voting next Tuesday, pack your patience. If your state offers early voting, it would be a good idea to take advantage of it if possible. Here's hoping that next week's voting horror stories are spotty and not widespread.
Comments
Wow, laying the groundwork just in case the king isn't crowned. What a pathetic article. I didn't realized the only places people had to wait in line were minority areas. That's amazing. Those dastardaly republicans have things set up so everywhere there are a lot of democrats, there will be problems at the polling places. I wonder if the learned professor had a problem with the 2004 election, where the City of St. Louis (overwhelming democrat) polls stayed open until midnight, violating the law, while those in St. Louis County (predominantly republican) closed at 7:00 p.m. This is one of the most pathetic pieces of liberal pandering I've ever read.
Posted by: Mike | October 28, 2008 6:37 PM
Don't worry, in Chicago there will be no long lines as there will be just a few people voting repeatedly. Also, dead people won't need to line up anyway.
Posted by: Ryan | October 29, 2008 1:40 AM