At the Polls: Lines and Lawsuits

[OKIsItJustMe]

Source: New York Times

November 4, 2008, 11:36 am

At the Polls: Lines and Lawsuits

By Ian Urbina

Voters flocked to the polls early this morning only to find parking lots already packed, turnout high and long lines already snaking around the block. The Times’s Ian Urbina and his colleagues are reporting throughout the day on problems at the polls.

Update | 2:30 p.m. After two months of countless lawsuits filed by partisan lawyers over how voting should be conducted in various swing states, legal skirmishes continued on Election Day.

The Ohio Republican Party re-filed a lawsuit it previously dropped against the Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, claiming that she has not done enough to ensure that provisional ballots are counted properly and uniformly in all counties across the state.

Ohio State University law professor Edward Foley, an election law specialist, said the lawsuit was a placeholder to be used by the Republicans to challenge the final results if the outcome in Ohio is close, using the Bush v. Gore decision by the Supreme Court in 2000.

…

Read more: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/04/at-the-polls-lines-glitches-and-enthusiasm/?ref=us

[LisaM]

1. Isn't the Bush v. Gore decision supposed to be immune from setting precedent?

Even among the many wrong things about the decision, it stood out that it was supposed to be a one-time decision that couldn't establish legal precedent.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. What a nice idea

The Supreme Court delivers an opinion, which sets no precedent. (The courts just pretend it didn't happen.)

…

The recount process, in its features here described, is inconsistent with the minimum procedures necessary to protect the fundamental right of each voter in the special instance of a statewide recount under the authority of a single state judicial officer. Our consideration is limited to the present circumstances, for the problem of equal protection in election processes generally presents many complexities.

The question before the Court is not whether local entities, in the exercise of their expertise, may develop different systems for implementing elections. Instead, we are presented with a situation where a state court with the power to assure uniformity has ordered a statewide recount with minimal procedural safeguards. When a court orders a statewide remedy, there must be at least some assurance that the rudimentary requirements of equal treatment and fundamental fairness are satisfied.

…

http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/00-949.ZPC.html">GEORGE W. BUSH, et al., PETITIONERS v. ALBERT GORE, Jr., et al.

[Gap Spanner]

3. Just spent 2:16 at the polls

I used to be able to walk in, cast my vote and walk out in less time than it takes to finish off a Venti Latte'. But that's changed. Here in Pierce County, WA, they've decided that we don't need nearly as many polling places. Perhaps they're trying to force us all into absentee voting?

My usual polling place has been combined with several other precincts. The problem is, though we now have about 10x the number of people voting in a single location, they have NOT increased the number of voting booths/tables. My wait today was 2hrs, 16 minutes. By the time I left at 4:15PM, the line had grown to about 70 more people than when I started.

Not only that, the line snaked THROUGH the few voting tables they had set up. While attempting to fill out my ballot on a flimsy, plastic table, I had people in line actually pushing against me, walking around me, kicking the legs of the table I was using (thankfully I didn't have the marker touching the paper or my ballot might have been 'spoiled' by a stray mark).

During the 2+ hour wait, I spoke with three people who left WITHOUT voting, due to health related issues (either a problem with standing long periods or needing to eat, take medication, etc).

If they're going to combine precincts, they should combine the tables as well. My polling place was NOT set up to handle the huge number of voters. I've heard that some places in Seattle were seeing would-be voters leaving for similar issues due to 4, 5 and even 6 hour waits. In Tacoma, WA I was told that the Eastside, a less affluent, less 'white' area of town, had even worse problems than I did, some waiting 4+ hours.

But the VERY worst part was some young girl who was giggling and sharing a text her boyfriend sent her - "Polls show Obama up 2 points, but that will change when the white people get off work and vote." I was NOT happy. Racist jokes being shared around the line of voters at the poll? It disgusted me.

[silverojo]

5. I don't know why volunteers weren't suggesting this, but...

They should've encouraged people to bring lawn chairs, extra meds, and a snack...on TV today, I saw several people in lawn chairs while waiting in line.

Hell, I live in a small town, and I bring an extra dose of meds just to drive in to the city to do grocery shopping. Why don't people think ahead? :(

[silverojo]

4. Oh, this is rich!

The Ohio Republican Party re-filed a lawsuit it previously dropped against the Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, claiming that she has not done enough to ensure that provisional ballots are counted properly and uniformly in all counties across the state.

And Blackwell did SO much better, didn't he? :sarcasm: