Exclusive: Officials in Ferguson, St. Louis County, MO Were Warned Paper Ballots Would Run Short

[BradBlog]

Source: BRAD BLOG



Exclusive: Officials in Ferguson, St. Louis County, MO Were Warned Paper Ballots Would Run Short
Emails obtained by BRAD BLOG show County election chief ignored warnings BEFORE election from experts, leading to long lines, voters turned away on Election Day 2014…

Election officials in St. Louis County, Missouri were repeatedly warned by local Election Integrity advocates that a plan to supply enough paper ballots for only 15% of the electorate at polling places on Election Day there would not be enough, according to emails obtained by The BRAD BLOG.

The emails, sent well before Election Day, expressed concern and doubt about "enough paper ballots at every polling place on November 4th to cover all of the voters who would like to have one," as one of advocates wrote to the Democratic Director of Elections in St. Louis County.

The warnings were ignored, the missives suggest, and, as reported by local media, the result was a widespread shortage of paper ballots on Election Day 2014 at sites throughout the county, including in the embattled city of Ferguson, MO. Throughout the county, the shortage of ballots resulted in long lines and voters who were turned away or forced to vote on 100% unverifiable touch-screen systems which the county has long encouraged voters to use. Some precincts were required to stay open at least an hour after the normal closing time in order to accommodate those who were in line to vote before the close of polls at 7pm local time.

St. Louis Public Radio reported the day after the election that "unexpected demand for paper ballots caused a shortage at about 95 polling places throughout the county Tuesday. That's more than 20 percent of the county's 444 balloting sites."

"The paper shortage," they explained, "was the biggest unexpected problem on Election Day".

But, in truth, it wasn't unexpected at all, at least according to emails we reviewed to and from the county's chief election official, suggesting that the Board of Elections simply ignored the clear warnings they had received from local Election Integrity experts...

FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=10945


Read more: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=10945

[PeoViejo]

1. Voter Supression

#RacistAssh0les.

[sakabatou]

2. K&R for exposure

[sheshe2]

3. There seems to be a lot of failure in Ferguson!

Suppressing the vote is obviously one of them.

[Jackpine Radical]

4. No, actually,

that was quite a success.

[mopinko]

8. ^^^ this. when will "oops" cease to be a good enough answer?

so many crimes are swept under the rug by the illusion that they were mistakes.
never ceases to amaze and sicken me.

[csziggy]

5. That is completely ridiculous!

Here, they print our ballots as they check us in. It's really nice for early voting since we can vote anywhere in the county. Because they don't have to estimate the number of ballots needed for each precinct, it makes it easier for the elections staff. We go in, go through the ID process (yeah, we have to have photo ID ), they send the correct ballot to the printer as we sign in (new this time, on an touch pad), hand us our ballot, and we go mark it. It takes less time than the old process that required them to look up an pull pre-printed ballots.

[Jack Rabbit]

6. WHy does everything associated with Ferguson sound so conspiratorial?

I'm supposed to be the one who doesn't believe in conspiracy theories.

[Jackpine Radical]

9. Alice probably didn't believe in rabbit holes either.

[Jack Rabbit]

10. Well, I certainly don't believe that kind of rabbit hole

However, when the grand jury fails to indict Officer Wilson, I'm not sure I'll find that too believable, either.

[Howler]

13. its not just furguson jack rabbit!

Its the whole freaking nation! If anyone is still deluded that this is just a local problem they are missing the whole picture.

[Jack Rabbit]

15. Oh, I get it, alll right

It's what should be expected when ground zero of climate change denial and voter suppression legislation is in Topeka, Kansas, at the homes of Dave and Charlie Koch, both of whom are children of a founding member of John Birch Society, a right wing organization known for silly conspiracy theories and bizarre paranoia, and one of them was active in the JBS in his youth.

I suppose that any one who believes that the fluoridation of drink water is a red plot or that General Eisenhower was a Communist would believe anything.

[Live and Learn]

18. +1 nt

[EEO]

7. Swell.

[freshwest]

11. But the Oligarchs told me 'If voting changed anything, it'd be illegal' and 'Voting doesn't matter.'

[Howler]

12. sorry but this comes right back to the democrats.

Eric holder could have at any time challenged the voter suppression tactics, or the freaking voter machine inconsistency!! No! It wasn't,hasn't or anytime soon going to be challengd,investigated, prosecuted. Makes one wonder who exactly is in control and is this really a democracy.???

[Odin2005]

14. Blatant vote-rigging.

And yet the "Dem" governor sides with the Fascists, racists, and pigs.

[They_Live]

16. Election Fraud

is what it is, and it is happening everywhere. Different methods, but look at the results.

[blkmusclmachine]

17. Suppress The Vote.

And the DEMS are where, doing what...



STATUS QUO

[nashville_brook]

19. k and r