Constitutional Law

Officials Should Prepare To Help All Voters On Election Day, Says Berkeley Law Dean

Election officials should prepare for the polls to be “overwhelmed, not underused” this Election Day, says Berkeley Law School Dean Christopher Edley Jr.  Edley, also a member of the ACS Board of Advisors, in a column for The Washington Post, noted that in too many localities nationwide not nearly enough is being done to handle what is expected to be record-breaking turnout on Election Day.

For example, Edley cited Virginia and Pennsylvania where some precincts have low numbers of voting machines and large numbers of registered voters. He offers suggestions, in the Post column, for helping voters:

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 are needed. Commit right now to holding the polls open late if necessary. Advertise what you’re prepared to do.

Last week a group of Pennsylvania voters, represented by the NAACP and the Election Reform Network, brought a lawsuit against state officials to force them to require precincts to make available paper ballots. The voters’ lawsuit noted that in several recent elections voting machines have malfunctioned, disenfranchising scores of voters.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on October 28, 2008 (boomark / email).