Voting lines at University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida reportedly are stretching five and four and a half hours, respectively.
Jon Greenbaum, Director of the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, has released the following statement:
All legal voters standing in line to vote by 7 p.m. should be given a regular ballot. But we are concerned that individual poll workers may send voters who have yet to cast a ballot home. It is up for the Secretary of State's office and county supervisors of election to ensure that polls remain open until every voter in line by 7 p.m. has voted. In the future, the Secretary of State's office should ensure that polling locations across the state are properly and fully staffed, so voters will not be forced to wait in lines of this length.
USF: The Marshall Student Center (precincts 252 & 253) is the polling location at which every USF student who lives in campus housing votes. Approximately 1,900 students are registered to vote at this location, and voter turnout was wildly underestimated. Two poll workers are handling intake – about 60-90 voters an hour, squeezing into room about 160 sq. ft. Additionally, this site is running out of ballots.
Voters in St. Louis have contacted Election Protection to report an issue that could prevent them from casting ballots in today's election.
Dozens of eligible voters submitted timely change of address forms that were not processed before election day. They were told to appear before a judge at the St. Louis City Board of Elections to have their form approved in order to vote today.
When one such voter, Gretchen Haupt, showed up at the courthouse, she discovered a waiting room full of dozens of other voters awaiting the same approval process from the judge. But at 2pm today, these voters were told that the judge would no longer hear these requests. This action will prevent dozens of voters from casting ballots.
Voters who experienced this or similar problems anywhere in the country can call 1-866-OUR-VOTE for assistance.
UPDATE (11/5, 2:02 p.m.): Voters in St. Louis City had contacted Election Protection experts to report a major issue that could have prevented them from casting ballots in yesterday's election. Voters reported that they were asked to appear before an election judge at the St. Louis City Board of Elections. Election Protection wanted to correct the previous alert that was distributed that did not clarify who exactly heard these cases and where these hearings took place.
We've received many reports of extremely long lines and other voting problems in Virginia today. Election Protection is working to help alleviate these problems, but we remain concerned that long lines, and potential ballot shortages, will make it difficult for many Virginians to cast a vote. For example, Election Protection has asked state officials to print more ballots, but the state's plan seems to be to wait until ballots run out before printing more.
On a more positive note, here's a snapshot from one polling place where Election Protection worked with election officials to make it easier for citizens to exercise their franchise.
This morning at the Cuffie Community Center in Chesapeake, Virginia, voters were standing in a line that would have kept them from voting for six to seven hours. Election Protection team members on the ground spoke with officials, who made a proactive decision to send employees from the central election office to help staff the polls at the community center. This alone cut the wait time down significantly. Common-sense solutions by pragmatic election officials aren't always enough to solve voting problems, but in this case, it worked.
We just passed a milestone: today alone, 50,000 voters have called the Election Protection hotline (1-866-OUR-VOTE) to report problems or ask for assistance in pursuing their right to vote.
The calls keep pouring in. Right across the hall from where the blogging team is stationed, our staff of trained volunteers is busy helping American voters gain access to the polls — a right that is obstructed far too often, as evidenced by the myriad issues around the country that we've been telling you about.
Election Protection is the nation’s largest nonpartisan voter protection coalition, led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law with more than 100 partners at the national, state and local levels. The coalition has 10,000 legal volunteers mobilized across the country to respond to reports of voting problems wherever they occur. You can read more about Election Protection — and voting problems across the country — here.
We are receiving many reports from frustrated Ohio voters who have been inexplicably dropped from the lists of registered voters.
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
Unfortunately, the first two issues occurred repeatedly in 2004 and 2006, but have not been corrected. Cuyahoga County was the scene of various problems with the voter-registration database in recent elections. Experts say these kinds of problems can stem from mischief, programming errors, database corruption or rogue code. Whatever the cause, they disenfranchise legitimate voters and interfere with an efficient, fair and accurate election process.
Voters who experience these issues can vote with a provisional ballot, but obviously that's not an adequate substitute for casting a vote by regular ballot. We must reform our voter-registration system to prevent, or at least greatly reduce, such problems from cropping up election after election.
Election Protection is working in Bleckley County, Georgia to ensure that students at Middle Georgia College are able to vote today after voting officials apparently extended, then suddenly withdrew, a deadline that would have ensured students were registered in time to use a regular ballot.
Federal observers have been sent to monitor the situation.
The controversy stems from a registration drive by the Obama campaign at the college, where 90% of the students are African-American. About 500 students were registered prior to the deadline, but the registrar then sent a letter to 370 of the students asking for proof of residence within three days. Most of these students did not even receive the letter until after that deadline had passed.
The Democratic Party and the National Bar Association urged the county attorney to resolve the issue. On October 31, the county attorney and registration officials said students could vote by regular ballot if they brought proof of residence to the registrar on or before election day.
However, at 4pm yesterday the Democratic Party received a letter from the county attorney stating that students would not be allowed to cast a regular ballot unless proof of residence had been presented prior to election day.
From Kansas City, Missouri, we're getting multiple reports of swapped poll books — meaning polling places do not have the proper lists of registered voters. Election Protection experts are working to resolve the problem. If your polling place is experiencing problems, please don't give up.
You can read real stories from voters encountering problems at polling places around the country here. One of the common themes: poorly trained or unresponsive election workers. For example, Shakira in Newark, New Jersey, couldn't get a straight answer about why the polling place didn't open on time. She reported that several frustrated voters left before voting. Again, please do not allow long lines or poorly trained election workers deter you from voting.
If you or someone you know finds it difficult to vote today, call Election Protection at 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) and one of our trained volunteers will try to help. For additional information, log onto our website at 866ourvote.org.
Eight years after South Florida was at the epicenter of voting problems, many concerned voters from the area are complaining about a variety of issues this morning. Election Protection has received a slew of reports about broken optical scan machines and long lines. In one case, absentee ballots were not received at a rehab center for elderly residents.
Voters, please remain in line and be persistent about your right to vote. We'll continue to monitor the situation in Florida as it develops.
Major machine malfunctions are being reported across Michigan, forcing voters to wait in lines as long as two hours to vote. Unfortunately, discouraged voters are leaving without casting a ballot. Problems have been reported at the following polling places, among others:
- Detroit Pulaski School (Detroit)
- Maple United Methodist Church (Battle Creek)
- Stevenson School (Auburn Hills)
- Lessenger Middle School (Detroit)
- Mason Elementary School (Grosse Pt. Woods)
- Lockport Township (Three Rivers)
- 14360 Wormer St. (Redford)
- West Junior High (Taylor)
- New Testament Church (Burton)
- Still Middle School (Muskengon)
