NAACP Sues in Virginia Over Voting Machine Distribution

In 2004, we saw in Ohio how poor voting machine distribution, coupled with extraordinary turnout, created lines blocks long at many polling places, with voters waiting from morning to night to vote.  And while the Justice Department concluded in 2005 that the distribution of those voting machines was not discriminatory, clearly, the system of voting machine distribution is broken in many key states.

Which brings us to Virginia.  

The NAACP has filed a lawsuit claiming that the government has failed to adequately prepare for the anticipated record turnout:

The lawsuit claims that the state is violating the U.S. and Virginia constitutions by not allocating enough voting machines, poll workers and polling places -- particularly in precincts with high minority populations -- which could result in long lines and lost votes.

The Advancement Project, a national voter protection group, filed the lawsuit late Monday in U.S. District Court in Richmond on the NAACP's behalf. It asks the state to move voting machines to precincts most likely to have long waiting lines; keep polls open for an extra two hours; and use paper ballots in some cases.

The State Board of Election responds:

[T]he State Board of Elections maintained that all localities are complying with the minimum number of voting machines and voting booths in each precinct as required by state code. Since 2004, the number of voting machines, polling places and workers has increased, according to the statement. For example, the number of voting machines has increased from about 5,700 in 2004 to about 10,600 in 2008.

Virginia has done a pretty good job of recruiting more poll workers and adding more voting machines (a 77% increase in voting machines since 2004). But the problem is that the state's allocation rules state that there should be at least one voting machine per 750 registered voters. As one staff attorney for the Advancement Project, the group that filed suit on behalf of the NAACP notes, "a touch-screen voting machine can’t handle 750 people in a day ­— not even close."

Whether through this lawsuit or through emergency suits filed on election day, voting hours in Virginia may likely be extended to accommodated the anticipated crushing turnout.