I've been working at the non-partisan Election Protection hotline (1-866-OUR-VOTE), and I've fielded a lot of calls recently that have made me stop and think about how difficult it is to vote in America today if you're not affluent, are not politically active, don't belong to an organization that focuses on voter participation (like a union or AARP), or have a high level of education.
So, I decided to lay out all the issues I've encountered, and why they have caused such problems. In order to maintain the anonymity guaranteed by the hotline, I'm not going to describe any specific incident I've encountered, but if you're interested in all the ways that I've seen in which the state and federal governments (frequently Republican) have made it more difficult for all but the most privileged of us to vote, follow me below the fold.
1. Voter ID Laws
Several states now require ID in order to vote. Indiana, Arizona, and Ohio are three states that will be enforcing Voter ID laws this general election (Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Missouri have laws that have been blocked through litigation). While on the surface, these laws may seem innocuous, they're not. Voter ID laws disproportionately disenfranchise lower income citizens. Why? Let's take a look at some statistics: 6 to 10 percent of voting-age Americans lack a driver's license or state-issued photo ID, which adds up to a whopping 11 to 20 million citizens. Do we really think 11-20 million people are planning on committing voter fraud?
Additionally, even in cases like Missouri where they offer a free ID for people who can't afford a license, passport, or state ID card, there are still two problems. First, you have to plan far ahead to get such a card in order to have one in time for an election, and second, it is a big financial sacrifice for hourly wage workers to get one (stand on line for hours, possibly have to go back again if they don't have all required materials to apply, etc.)
The House of Representatives passed a national voter ID program in a bill that could succeed if Republicans retain control of the Senate past November. Yet another reason to take back the Senate this election!
2. Voter Roll Purges
I know there have been several diaries of questionable authenticity on Daily Kos that have sounded alarms about voter roll purges in Ohio, but there are documented episodes of voter roll purges around the country in recent years. The purges have frequently targeted Democratic stronghold districts, and voters may not know if they have been purged.
3. Redistricting
I won't dwell on this too much, because Daily Kos has had tons of diaries discussing gerrymandering and its effects (especially in Texas), but no discussion of disenfranchisement would be complete without a mention of how changing district boundaries not only benefits Republicans by giving them "safe" districts, but also dilutes the votes of people living in "ethnic" or lower income neighborhoods by clustering such neighborhoods, thereby ensuring that all votes from those neighborhoods are contained in a single district.
4. Voter Intimidation
Images of thuggery from the 2004 elections aside, the most likely way intimidation will come up in 2006 is through Republican poll watchers challenging voters. In Maryland, Republican poll watchers are being trained to "aggressively" challenge voters as they try to vote. They will challenge based such things as asking for assistance from election judges, or not being able to "readily" supply their address. Just warms your heart, doesn't it?
Now, if anyone sees this happen at their polling place, they should call both their state Democratic office and the Election Protection hotline IMMEDIATELY. But it is easy to imagine that a voter without a post-graduate degree for whom English is their second language could be easily scared away when faced with such vitriol. I'm a lawyer, and I'd still be intimidated and humiliated.
5. Electronic Voting Machines
I'm not going to get into the security problems with the machines and the ease with which they can be hacked, because that is a fraud issue, and this diary is focused on legal ways to disenfranchise voters. However, the use of electronic machines is unfamiliar and confusing to many senior citizens, for whom computers are not part of their lives. My favorite is how Pennsylvania, in an attempt to be helpful, has put a video of how to use their electronic voting machines online. I'm just guessing that if you understand computers and the internet well enough to locate and view the video, you probably don't need the help.
Further, the average age of poll workers in the United States is 72 years old. Yes, that's the same generation for whom high-tech electronics are not exactly intuitive. The poll workers are also undertrained (see excellent diary from histopresto), which can lead to all types of problems at the polls.
6. Insufficient Voting Funds
This goes both to the training of poll workers described above, and also to the lack of resources to store and secure voting machines. The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) paid for the machines, but didn't necessarily provide funds for municipalities to store and maintain them. HAVA also doesn't necessarily pay to train poll workers and maintenance specialists, so if the machines malfunction or break, there is little that can be done. This results in long lines for the few machines that do work, and long lines means people have to miss work to vote. Those of us with salaried jobs are much better able to afford that sacrifice than hourly wage workers, as with the voter ID rules. Ohio in 2004 is the best example of such a debacle.
7. Educating Voters
Voting is intimidating if you aren't confident that you know what you're voting for. Propositions in particular are really difficult to understand, and TV advertisements frequently enflame without educating. While it is true that you can look up such information easily on the internet (thus Chris Bowers's excellent Googlebomb program for candidates), internet is only helpful if you have access to a computer that you know how to use.
People don't know where to go to get information, and they wind up either not voting or casting votes that they don't understand. The state and local Democratic offices need to do more to let voters know they are a resource in voter education. The Election Protection hotline does not give out candidate or proposition information, but dozens of people have called it anyway asking questions about candidates and propositions because it is the only phone number they've seen relating to the election.
8. Voter Registration Deadlines
Let me start by giving kudos to the great state of Wisconsin, which allows voters to register at the polls on election day and then vote. If only every state were so inclusive. HAVA claimed to fix this by requiring the availability of provisional ballots in every state, but in reality, provisional votes are not consistently counted. Ohio makes it especially tough, because not only do you have to go to your correct polling location to cast one, but you have to vote in your correct precinct for it to count. In other words, if a polling place has 6 tables for six different precincts, you have to go to the correct table to cast your provisional ballot, or it is chucked.
As it stands now, each state has different deadlines for registration. It is never good to have a registration cut-off date farther away from an election. Unless potential voters are paying attention months in advance, they may miss the chance to vote. Then, if an issue or candidate gets them interested in October, they can't do anything about it. Registration deadlines also disproportionately affect students.
9. Convicted Felons
Every state differs on the eligibility of convicted felons. Some states permit inmates to vote while in jail, and some go as far as disenfranchising individuals for the rest of their lives, even once they have successfully completed parole. Needless to say, the people who are convicted felons are disproportionately poor, under-educated, and of traditionally disenfranchised minority status.
Further, because the rules vary so vastly from state to state, many in this position are confused about whether they can vote, and embarrassed to ask because they have to disclose their felony conviction in order to find out if they can vote. They also frequently don't know who to ask.
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I don't have a lot of answers, but one thought I have had is that every state Democratic organization should have a state "Voter's Bill of Rights" available both online and in print that explains voter ID rules, how to protect your right to vote if challenged at the polls, voter registration deadlines, and felony rules (if they don't already).
Also, this information should be distributed during canvassing for candidates and not just during voter registration drives.
Anyone else have ideas or thoughts?