Here in Columbus, Ohio, we know how to remove the logistical barriers that people face at the polls. We need your help to make this happen.
Without intervention, the nightmare long lines voters faced in the last election will recur again in Columbus. The abnormally long ballot takes 16 minutes to complete. A record number of people have registered to vote, and voter turnout in this election will be unlike anything we have seen before. Statistical analysis of ballot length, voter registration, and expected turnout in Franklin County predict really long lines.
But with strategic, targeted efforts tomorrow, YOU can prevent this from happening and empower people to vote for change. Call 614-559-9906 NOW to volunteer.
Our field experience over the last ten weeks mobilizing early voters indicates that tomorrow will be huge. Our goal at Vote From Home, to mobilize 10,000 voters before election day, has already had a measurable and substantial impact on Columbus communities that faced the longest lines in 2004. In the neighborhoods targeted by Vote From Home, over 20% of registered voters – and over 30% in some areas – have already cast ballots.
But long lines are still likely, and the precincts at highest risk for long lines are also the areas predicted to have an almost 20% increase in voters.
To determine just how long these lines will be, we built a model that incorporates the number of machines allocated to each polling place, the number of ballots already submitted, and the number of registered voters by precinct.
For many poorer areas in Columbus, the numbers just don't add up. The time it will take voters to move through polling places in these precincts extends far beyond the 13 hours allocated for voting on Election Day. In heavily African-American Columbus Ward 5, for example, the four precincts expect up to 17 hours of voting each.
Tomorrow, you can help us do two things to solve this problem and enable ALL who WANT to vote to cast a ballot.
First, you can help us to hand out sample ballots while people wait in line. On Election Day, many people go to the polls unsure about how they will vote on some items, specifically the special issues and questions. If everyone has a chance to decide how they will vote while waiting, people will move through the polls much quicker. By dropping just three minutes from the time it takes to fill out a ballot, the number of voting hours that need to occur in Ward 5, for example, would average 12.8 hours. The impact on the lines would be huge.
Second, you can explain the option of paper ballots to voters as they wait. All polling places will have paper ballots available; if voters choose to use these ballots instead of the machines, more people can vote at one time and the lines will move much faster.
With your help, we can – and we will – make history tomorrow. Please join us in Columbus. Call 614-559-9906 NOW.