Florida, the beginning of the aftermath and a new era
By Josh Zaharoff
Posted on Wed Nov 05, 2008 at 10:43:26 AM EST
First off, a great story about the tremendous voter protection work we did in Florida (patting self on back): For nearly a month, Zeigler has worked with five volunteers to help voters in five counties whose registrations had not met the state's verification law, better known as the "no match, no vote" law. In Duval County alone, there were 258. Zeigler is one of the people who has worked on election-protection efforts in seven swing states, sponsored by the nonprofit Common Cause. But the big story today is about Obama, of course, and the incredible moment in American history and American democracy. Indeed, we have many problems to solve and a ton of work to do, but yesterday's numbers tell a promising story: over 130 million votes cast, a turnout over 62% that is the highest in at least 44 years, led by the historic level of young voter turnout. And, of course, the first African-American president in our history.
One of the untold stories of this election was the lengthy, and often under-the-radar, work by the Election Protection coalition that we were a part of -- winning court battles, organizing on the ground, and preventing potential election problems in the months and years before Election Day. Folks like our Florida team did a tremendous job of making sure every voter had a chance to cast a ballot that counted.
We still have too much big money in our politics, too many deceptive practices in our elections, and too few companies controlling too many major media outlets. We have a lot to do to continue to mold this beacon of democracy -- but yesterday was a big step forward in many, many ways.
Taking voter calls in California
By Josh Zaharoff
Posted on Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 07:30:48 PM EST
Election Protection command center in Los Angeles
It may not be glamorous, but there's something exciting about pictures like this -- what just one of the many Election Protection command centers look like around the country, with trained volunteers and legal professionals taking calls and logging it into our database for any follow up.
This is from LA, where polls remain open and calls continue to pour in. You can view the breakdown of calls we've been getting all day at the OurVoteLive site.
Indiana update #2: challenges, intimidation in Gary and Indianapolis
By Josh Zaharoff
Posted on Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 07:17:27 PM EST
After a day that featured few voter challenges at the polls -- a welcome break from 2004 -- we've just heard about intimidation in Lake County, home to Gary, Indiana, from one of our staff who is on the ground as a poll monitor.
Voters in Gary showed up with valid registration cards but were inexplicably left off the voting rolls. At first they were turned away. Then, when the county elections office decided to start letting people vote but to track them in a log to confirm their voting eligibility, two Republican attorneys who had been at multiple polling sites over the course of the day began challenging every one of these voters.
Ohio update #4: more on provisional ballots
By Josh Zaharoff
Posted on Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 05:00:25 PM EST
Most voters at most polling places in Ohio today have voted without trouble, save for generally long lines. But the primary cause for concern in Ohio today has been provisional ballots, which has affected thousands of voters. We picked up on this problem this morning.
The state board of elections and Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner have been responsive, according to the Election Protection teams in Ohio. Now the Assistant Secretary of State has, in fact, been dispatched to deal with the provisional ballot issue and is coordinating with all of their regional liaisons to work directly with local Boards of Election. Two major problems have arisen:
New York and Indiana, briefly
By Josh Zaharoff
Posted on Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 03:58:40 PM EST
Machine malfunctions--no surprise, given that New York continues to use lever machines that will finally be retired in the next couple years--are being reported at a higher rate than ever before at our New York election protection call center. They've fielded nearly 300 calls on voting equipment problems, and some polling places in New York City have lines as long as four hours.
Upstate, meanwhile, the poll workers at a SUNY-Albany precinct were turning students away -- the problem has apparently been solved, but not before many students were rejected when they were inexplicably kept off the voting rolls:
Ohio update #3
By Josh Zaharoff
Posted on Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 02:51:42 PM EST
A bit more on Ohio. I just wrote about the wrongful use of provisional ballots, a repeat of a 2006 problem.
Turns out there's more in Ohio that mirrors 2006 and 2004: voters being inexplicably dropped from the rolls. Voters in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) and Franklin County (Columbus) are reporting that:
* after voting from same address for years, they suddenly have disappeared from the list at polls
* they received a voter registration card/notice of registration and precinct, as recently as this fall -- yet are not on the poll registry
* they are on the statewide database (DB) but not on the poll registry
Ohio update #2
By Josh Zaharoff
Posted on Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 02:25:05 PM EST
Ohio is facing the same problem they faced in 2006: voters being forced to cast provisional ballots when by law they should be casting regular ballots.
It's a frustrating problem; it's hard to tell how wide the scope of it is, but all signs point to a statewide issue. Here are the basics: The provisional ballot problem largely stems from a misinterpretation of the state's new ID requirements. Voters can demonstrate their eligibility by presenting identification such as a utility bill or a driver's license, even if the license has an old address, but dozens of voters report poll workers who did not accept such ID and forced them to cast a provisional ballot. While a regular paper ballot would be counted today, a provisional ballot may or may not be counted within ten days. Voters casting provisional ballots are advised to return to their BOE and present additional ID within that time frame - an unnecessary burden for voters who have followed the law and should have their votes counted immediately.
Long lines in Columbus, OH
By Josh Zaharoff
Posted on Tue Nov 04, 2008 at 08:17:45 AM EST
The election protection hotline, 1-866-OURVOTE, has been humming this morning. In Ohio--the state I'll be tracking throughout the day--the first reports are of some long lines in the early morning hours, caused in several instances by polling machines not working.
One call report said, "Voter arrived at polling place before 7 am and left without voting because there was only a single line for all precincts and it was very long, and voter had to leave for work. In past years there had been multiple lines."
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