November 03, 2008 03:14 pm
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Have you voted yet? Is it 6 p.m. yet? No? Put the paper down and get out the door!
If you already voted, how did it go? How were the lines? Did you have time to actually vote before the polls closed? Did you remember your state-issued identification? Did anyone try to discourage you from voting for any reason? Were you on the registration list? Did you have to cast a provisional ballot?
Republicans have learned a new trick during the last several elections. Actually, it isn't new. It is a trick Southern Democrats frequently pulled before there was some federal legislation prohibiting it. It goes like this: you identify the demographic groups most like to vote for the opposition, then try to prevent them from voting. Since literacy tests are out of fashion, the means have changed.
Though, post-primary, I'm not an Obama supporter, I believe that everything from the most current polls, the tangible excitement in the air and his refraining from the negative and petty while campaigning suggests Barack Obama deserves to win this election (not to mention that infomercial. If you buy it, it's yours. Right?). It is also clear that many have gotten emotionally invested in this election like no other, namely those same people some Republicans would like to discourage from casting a ballot: young people, minorities and low-income folks.
Every time over the last few weeks I've heard some mention of ACORN as a subversive group, electronic voting machines, turnout that may overwhelm the polls, people potentially standing in line unable to vote at closing time, the purging of voter registration roles and the process of running registrations through data bases to see if information matches precisely, a process that provides false results 60 percent of the time, I start worrying some partisans or racists are going to try to pull a fast one.
Bitter feelings linger from 2000, and as Al Gore could hardly be whiter, suspicions of racism toward the actual candidate wasn't even involved in the resentment mix. If there is any question about the integrity of this election's results, bitter feelings may be a minor concern.
In Indiana, Secretary of State Todd Rokita has requested an investigation of ACORN, a community organizing group that registers voters, for potential fraud in voter registrations. From my understanding, the group and others who register voters are in a bit of a legal spot. It would be illegal for them to fill out people's registrations for them. They often hire other people to do the registrations. If a registration is turned into them that has inaccurate, incomplete or illegible information, they can't really do anything about it as they are required to turn in all registrations. Suggesting they throw registrations away would certainly be inviting abuse.
Another Indiana issue is the situation students at private colleges have run into while trying to vote early. Indiana's ID requirement allows the use of a student ID card issued by a state university, but not from a private one such as Notre Dame or Hanover. So out-of-state students who chose to register here, where they live, have been turned away from the polls. There are also concerns about some counties that use electronic machines which take three to four minutes per voter. The fear is there will simply not be enough time and machines for everyone to vote.
If you do run into a problem voting or witness someone else being discouraged or prohibited from voting, there are a few organizations that would like to hear about it. CNN has a hotline set up at 1-877-GOCNN08. Their Web site states, “CNN will report on some of your calls and our partner, InfoVoter Technologies, can help get you in touch with your election board or find your voting location.”
Wired.com asks that you let them know of any voting problems. They will have a tracking map of issues. They ask they you tell them the specific location of the problem, if a machine malfunction was involved, what kind of machine and provide details in the comment box provided. Contact information is helpful but not required. They warn however, they're, “not interested in hearing political rants,” only legitimate voting problems.
The site advises you do not leave the polling place if you experience a problem, but instead call 1-866-OUR-VOTE, which has legal experts provided by Election Protection. If you're not experiencing a problem, but have witnessed one and would like to report it, you can call 1-866-MYVOTE. Most sources advised insisting upon a provisional ballot if turned away from the polls. One should be provided, and you then have 10 days to straighten out what ever issue is involved and have your vote count.
The state and its county officials should be expecting and prepared for a record turnout. Everyone should be trained. All hands on deck. Plenty of ballots on hand. Everybody knows the rules. We can only trust but verify.
While waiting to vote, Jeffersonville resident Kelley Curran, apparently dehydrated and hallucinating, reported to CNN that albino squirrels were throwing acorns at college-age voters. Wish her a quick recovery at kelinawriterhat@aol.com
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Kelly Curran