Get Out The Vote

Get Out the Vote - Make It Count

Armed state police officers recently went into the homes of Orlando voter registration volunteers, investigating "alleged voter fraud" from the March mayoral election. Troopers' "visits" came after findings of no voter fraud.   Columnist Bob Herbert was told officers were "interviewing a random sample" of citizens.    Most were elderly. Most were black

A Missouri student was ably assisted by his county Elections Head when his voting records were missing at the primary. Others, pressed for time, didn't seek help.  

Boulder County, CO voters will vote for president on paper ballots.   Much of Florida's vote, however, will leave no paper trail. Economist/writer Paul Krugman says, "Independent computer scientists who have examined some of these machines ...are appalled at the security flaws."

Lawsuits forced Florida's Secretary of State to release the felons list.   Officials discovered thousands of eligible voters, many with no criminal record, who would have been purged from the rolls.

Chicago's primary elicited 5,914 provisional ballots. Over 90% weren't counted.

The Missouri Democratic Party brought suit blocking certification of primary results because the Secretary of State, a Senate candidate, disallows provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct.   

    Provisional Ballots:   The New Hanging Chads

A concern of   voting rights advocates, provisional ballots are mandated by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). Their ironic purpose: preventing denial of voters' rights because of clerical errors or precinct mix-ups.    Civil rights groups estimate that happened to 1.5 million voters in 2000. HAVA requires counting provisional ballots of voters "eligible under state law."   Some states deem voters ineligible if they cast   provisional ballots in the wrong precinct, although precinct confusion is one reason to use them.   Some label the process "a literacy test." Voter error caused rejection of   many Chicago provisional ballots.

California allows 28 days for counting these ballots; Florida & Tennessee:   2 days. TN officials may appeal for more time. The League of Women Voters urges publication of how many provisional ballots issued per district and scrutiny of counting. Election workers fear time running out, specters of lawsuits hovering as they count frantically.     

Sound familiar??   -- Pat Wiser

Sources: Boulder Camera ; Chattanooga Times--Free Press ; Coffee, Franklin, Marion County Election Officials; Election Reform Project; Interview, MO Student & Election Official;   League of Women Voters ; Miami Herald ; New York Times ; Rocky Mt. News ; TN Dept. of State