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AlterNet
Your Own Private Ohio: Seven Ways Your Vote Might Not Count This
November
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
Posted on August 22, 2008, Printed on August 22, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/95974/
While many voting rights activists are focused on stopping potential
problems on Election Day, there are several milestones between now
and the 2008 presidential vote that would preview problems with
voting on Nov. 4.
What voters often do not know is that long lines or delays in
polling place voting can result from many factors -- some
administrative, some technical, some partisan. Many of the problems
that arise on Election Day not only can be identified before voting
in November, they can be resolved by election officials. The
following issues will directly impact how voters are accommodated.
Voter Purges
According to the federal law that governs how people may be removed
from voter lists, the last day that most registered voters can be
purged is 90 days before an election, which would have been Aug. 5
for the presidential election. However, some states are not
following the process in the National Voter Registration Act,
according to voting rights attorneys. Moreover, because purges are
often conducted secretly, people who do not call local election
offices to confirm their registration status may discover later this
fall that they cannot vote.
Solution: Voters, particularly those who have not voted in recent
years, should call their local election office to confirm they are
registered at their current address. If they are not properly
registered, they should update their voter registration. This must
be done before registration closes, which is the first week in
October in 27 states. Advocacy groups can facilitate this by
accessing a voter registration list and reviewing it with community
activists. (Editor's note: Web sites and experts to help voters are
listed below.)
Unprocessed Voter Registrations
After the Democratic Convention, the Obama campaign will launch a
national voter registration drive to bring millions of new voters to
the polls in November, according to top campaign officials. This
could be the largest voter drive in decades. In previous years,
local election officials have complained about receiving too many
registration forms at the last minute to verify before Election Day.
In two Ohio cities in 2004, Cleveland and Toledo, boxes of
registrations went unprocessed by Election Day.
Solution: New voters should register sooner rather than later, and
then verify that their voter registration forms have been processed
by calling local election offices. Remember, it is local election
officials, not political parties or third-party groups, who are
legally responsible for validating and processing voter
registrations.
Obstacles to Student Voting
Historically, students have been criticized for not voting, but what
is often overlooked are the obstacles created by local officials or
state legislators that discourage student voting. The most frequent
barriers involve state residency and ID requirements. In some
places, registrars tell students that a campus post office box is
not a proper address and refuse to register students for that
reason.
Solution: Students who experience problems with voter registration
should contact organizations working on voter registration, or the
presidential campaigns, or election protection lawyers who have the
legal expertise to help with registration and could go to court to
enforce student voting rights.
Voting Machine Allocations
How local election officials allocate voting machines -- literally
the number of machines per polling place -- can lead to smooth
voting, or long lines prompting some voters to leave without casting
a ballot. In 2004 in Ohio, a shortage of voting machines created
lines and delayed voting that disenfranchised minority voters in the
state's inner cities. In contrast, nearby wealthier suburbs
experienced no lines, due to an ample number of voting machines.
Solution: Local election integrity groups or election activists
should ask election officials how they are deploying the machines
and ask officials what the basis is for that decision. Election
officials tend to use historic turnout patterns over several voting
cycles, which, as was the case this spring, underestimated the
number of primary and caucus voters. Local officials should be
encouraged to use the voter turnout numbers from 2008's primaries
and caucuses and updated voter registration statistics, rather than
voter turnout figures from 2004.
Poll Worker Shortages
The nation's elections are staffed by 2 million poll workers, who
typically are senior citizens who undergo a few hours of training
before Election Day. A shortage of poll workers, or poll workers who
are uncomfortable with the latest electronic voting technology or
the latest fine print in election law, will lead to delays in
voting.
Solution: Local election integrity activists or local media should
ask election officials where there are likely to be shortages of
poll workers, and help recruit key staffers there. Election
officials, for their part, should turn to local high schools and
colleges to recruit poll workers. Arizona, a state with restrictive
election laws, even allows 17-year-olds to serve as poll workers.
Often these students can receive school credit while learning how
elections really work.
Partisan Voter Challenges
In recent years, the GOP has threatened to challenge the credentials
of new voters, claiming it is seeking to protect the process from
so-called voter fraud, or people posing as other voters. Democrats
have not embraced this tactic, which causes delays in voting, with
equal vigor. The first sign of voter challenges will come in
October, when newly registered voters will receive a non-forwardable
postcard from a political party that welcomes the voter to the
political process. Sometimes these voters are selected based on race
or ethnicity. Those recipients whose cards are returned -- because
the address is incorrect -- can be put on a voter challenge list.
Come Election Day, partisan volunteers can stand at the polls and
insist those voters produce ID and other verification, such as
utility bills, to prove who they are before voting. Voters who
cannot produce such identification are not permitted to vote.
Solution: Any voter who registers after Aug. 1 and who receives such
a postcard from a political party not of their choosing should
recognize they could be on a "caging" or voter challenge list. This
is especially true for college students and minority voters. Because
vote caging can be illegal in certain circumstances, voters should
notify voter protection groups, who should follow up on the vote
challenge scheme. Also, those registrants should bring additional ID
to the polls on Election Day, and they should alert the presidential
campaign they support to investigate if voter caging is likely, as
election lawyers take this issue very seriously. If voters are
properly credentialed, they will get to vote. This tactic is
designed to create delays at the polls, so people often leave in
frustration, particularly those who try to vote on their way to work
or on their lunch hour.
Early Voting/Absentee Ballot Problems
Problems with voting early or voting by mail can be a sign of
election difficulties. For soldiers and others overseas, if absentee
ballots are not sent out early enough, they may not get delivered in
time for recipients to return them to be counted.
Solution: Any problems with early voting should be reported to voter
registration organizations, which will forward them to voting rights
lawyers who will investigate and possibly intervene. Voting rights
groups can monitor requests for absentee ballots to see how many
have been sent out, which will indicate if voting this way will be
problematic. The military and some states are instituting a system
of registering voters online, but ballots still have to be requested
and submitted on time. Federal Express has a program to help deliver
military ballots.
Solutions and Resources for Voters
Finding your local election official: The Overseas Vote Foundation
has a nationwide directory on its Web site that has all the contact
information you need to verify and update voter registration
information.
Registering to vote: Many sites offer help with getting voter
registration forms, but it is up to the voter to ensure they are
filled out properly and returned on time. Two good sites that offer
this service include NonProfitVote.org, which has a home page map
that launches all kinds of helpful registration and other
information from every state; and DeclareYourself.org, which is
seeking to register students and young people.
Legal help for any voting problem: The Lawyers Committee for Civil
Rights Under Law has a live hotline, 1-866-OUR-VOTE, and callers can
talk to a lawyer or expert who will help resolve issues or refer the
matter to lawyers who will go to court. This is the country's
largest election protection network, although it now is only taking
calls during East Coast business hours. The Campaign Legal Center
also is staffed by lawyers and has developed legal templates that
anybody could use to use to go to court to protect their right to
vote; people or groups experiencing problems are urged to call.
Finding your polling place: The League of Women Voters has a polling
place locator on its home page, lwv.org.
Steven Rosenfeld is a senior fellow at Alternet.org and co-author of
"What Happened in Ohio: A Documentary Record of Theft and Fraud in
the 2004 Election," with Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman (The New
Press, 2006).
© 2008 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/95974/
