A Voting Rights Disaster? (WaPo)

[struggle4progress]

By Christopher Edley Jr.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008; Page A17

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 ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/27/AR2008102702405.html

[midnight]

1. After all this Acorn news this crap is still tolerated...

How hard is it to make this more equal, fair, and balanced?

[NC_Nurse]

2. Yep. It's a disgrace. I hope the Dems pass a law about standard voter reg and

early voting in EVERY state with equal access rules too.

[mod mom]

3. Took me 15 mins to vote in '04 in my affluent GOP leaning suburb while less than 1 mile away

in low income Af Am precincts over 5 hour waits occurred. Misallocation of machines is just one way to suppress segments of population from voting. Unfortunately when you have an administration and a DOJ that PROMOTES this-there is NO JUSTICE and illegitimate elections.

I hope that not only will bush go down as the worst president ever but there must be an * after his name since he never legitimately won!

[SheilaT]

4. This is one reason why early voting

is so popular. too bad not all states do it.

[MountainLaurel]

6. Early voting in New Orleans had a three-hour wait

On Saturday. I think a lot of people were afraid of even longer waits come next Tuesday.

[tblue37]

5. They don't give up and go home--they give up and go to work so they don't

lose their job or a whole day's pay that they need "to put food on their family."