Under North Carolina's new voter ID law, otherwise properly registered voters without an acceptable form of ID will have to vote a provisional ballot. Reasons could include not having a photo ID that falls within a few limited categories, but it also could be something as simple as having an expired driver's license, an expired passport, or a Veteran's ID card more than eight years old.
If a voter is required to vote a provisional ballot, he then has to bring an acceptable form of photo ID to the county BOE office prior to canvass (the official certification of the election results), ten days after the election. But before he can do that, he has to get the acceptable form of photo ID that he didn't have on Election Day. That means, at a minimum, a trip to DMV to renew a license. And then another trip to the county BOE office.
In Wake County, the BOE office is on the corner of Salisbury and Davie streets. There are about ten parking spots (with meters) on the street, almost always taken. There is also a pay parking deck about block and a half away.
It all adds up. One trip to vote on Election Day (with about 15-20 minutes to vote provisionally and receive an explanation of how to correct the photo ID problem), one trip to get the correct photo ID (which will also cost time and money), and one trip to the county BOE office (which will also cost time, and in many cases, money as well).
I wonder what the original colonists would think........
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Votes That Won't Be Counted
Under the new voter ID law just passed in North Carolina, thousands of votes that used to be counted will not be counted. Which ones? Surprisingly, it will be every vote on a ballot that is cast in the wrong precinct, even if the voter shows proper ID and receives the right ballot.
Under the old law, if a voter came into the wrong precinct but was otherwise properly registered to vote in the county, he was given the choice as to whether to go to his correct precinct and vote there, or vote a provisional ballot in the wrong precinct. As poll workers, we always encouraged the voter to go to his correct precinct, but sometimes the voter would say, "Oh, I don't care about all those little races. I just want to vote for President, or Governor, or Senator."
If the voter insisted on voting a provisional ballot in the wrong precinct, he would be given a ballot style that most closely matched the ballot style he would have received if he had gone to his correct precinct. His voted ballot would be placed in a provisional ballot envelope, the staff of the county BOE would then research what ballot the voter should have received, and then create a "dummy" ballot showing the races the voter was eligible to vote in. After the county BOE approved the partial counting of the ballot, the provisional envelope would be opened, and the votes for candidates in the races in which the voter voted which showed up on the "dummy" ballot would be counted.
Now, under the law recently passed, none of the votes on a provisional ballot will count if the voter is not in his correct precinct. What is the rationale for not counting the votes in races that appear on EVERY ballot, such as President, Governor, or US Senator? I honestly can't think of one. And I believe this provision may run afoul of the North Carolina Constitution. ("Every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, 18 years of age, and possessing the qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people of the State, except as herein otherwise provided."....and "Removal from one precinct, ward, or other election district to another in this State shall not operate to deprive any person of the right to vote in the precinct, ward, or other election district from which that person has removed until 30 days after the removal.")
Fun side note: There were occasional happy instances when a voter in the wrong precinct was able to receive the correct ballot style anyway. That situation sometimes occurred when a voter went to a nearby precinct (but nevertheless the wrong one) to vote. No more!
Under the old law, if a voter came into the wrong precinct but was otherwise properly registered to vote in the county, he was given the choice as to whether to go to his correct precinct and vote there, or vote a provisional ballot in the wrong precinct. As poll workers, we always encouraged the voter to go to his correct precinct, but sometimes the voter would say, "Oh, I don't care about all those little races. I just want to vote for President, or Governor, or Senator."
If the voter insisted on voting a provisional ballot in the wrong precinct, he would be given a ballot style that most closely matched the ballot style he would have received if he had gone to his correct precinct. His voted ballot would be placed in a provisional ballot envelope, the staff of the county BOE would then research what ballot the voter should have received, and then create a "dummy" ballot showing the races the voter was eligible to vote in. After the county BOE approved the partial counting of the ballot, the provisional envelope would be opened, and the votes for candidates in the races in which the voter voted which showed up on the "dummy" ballot would be counted.
Now, under the law recently passed, none of the votes on a provisional ballot will count if the voter is not in his correct precinct. What is the rationale for not counting the votes in races that appear on EVERY ballot, such as President, Governor, or US Senator? I honestly can't think of one. And I believe this provision may run afoul of the North Carolina Constitution. ("Every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, 18 years of age, and possessing the qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people of the State, except as herein otherwise provided."....and "Removal from one precinct, ward, or other election district to another in this State shall not operate to deprive any person of the right to vote in the precinct, ward, or other election district from which that person has removed until 30 days after the removal.")
Monday, July 29, 2013
One Vote at a Time
I worry about how much longer it will take each voter to vote under NC's new law.
Under the old law, a voter walked into the precinct or early voting site, approached the registration table, and stated his name and address. The poll worker found the voter in the poll book and either peeled off a label and stuck it on an authorization to vote or tore out a pre-printed authorization to vote (ATV). In either case, the voter had to sign the ATV (attesting that his name and address were correct), the poll worker then initialed it and handed it back to the voter, and then the voter took it to the ballot table and exchanged the ATV for a ballot.
Under the new law, the voter comes in and approaches the registration table with his ID....let's say for simplicity's sake, that it is his NC driver's license. The precinct worker has to look at the expiration date to make sure it hasn't expired, and then has to compare the picture on the license to the person standing in front of him. Only then can the poll worker go to the poll book and find the voter's registration.
The two extra steps of looking for the expiration date and matching the photo to the voter will certainly take a minimum of 15 seconds, and perhaps double or triple that. It might not sound like a lot, but when you multiply that times 100 or more voters an hour, that's a lot.
But wait, there's more....the new law does away with straight party voting. That means that the voter has to vote in each individual race. And that means more time spent in the booth, or at a table, or on the floor, or on the edge of the stage in the multipurpose room in the elementary school. And more time spent in the precinct means more crowding, more waiting by the voters behind you, and more parking spots being used for longer periods of time.
And with eight days cut off of early voting (a week at the beginning and one day at the end), the time available to vote is more compressed.
I worry, and I worry, and I worry.
Under the old law, a voter walked into the precinct or early voting site, approached the registration table, and stated his name and address. The poll worker found the voter in the poll book and either peeled off a label and stuck it on an authorization to vote or tore out a pre-printed authorization to vote (ATV). In either case, the voter had to sign the ATV (attesting that his name and address were correct), the poll worker then initialed it and handed it back to the voter, and then the voter took it to the ballot table and exchanged the ATV for a ballot.
Under the new law, the voter comes in and approaches the registration table with his ID....let's say for simplicity's sake, that it is his NC driver's license. The precinct worker has to look at the expiration date to make sure it hasn't expired, and then has to compare the picture on the license to the person standing in front of him. Only then can the poll worker go to the poll book and find the voter's registration.
The two extra steps of looking for the expiration date and matching the photo to the voter will certainly take a minimum of 15 seconds, and perhaps double or triple that. It might not sound like a lot, but when you multiply that times 100 or more voters an hour, that's a lot.
But wait, there's more....the new law does away with straight party voting. That means that the voter has to vote in each individual race. And that means more time spent in the booth, or at a table, or on the floor, or on the edge of the stage in the multipurpose room in the elementary school. And more time spent in the precinct means more crowding, more waiting by the voters behind you, and more parking spots being used for longer periods of time.
And with eight days cut off of early voting (a week at the beginning and one day at the end), the time available to vote is more compressed.
I worry, and I worry, and I worry.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Questions I Can't Answer
The North Carolina General Assembly has just passed a Voter ID bill for the purpose of combatting voter fraud. But I have not yet heard the answers to these questions:
1. How does cutting a week off of early voting combat voter fraud?
2. How does eliminating straight party ticket voting combat voter fraud?
3. How does eliminating pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds combat voter fraud?
4. How does raising the limit on contributions by an individual from $4,000 to $5,000 combat voter fraud?
5. How does limiting early voting to one Sunday (when there used to be three Sundays) combat voter fraud?
6. How does prohibiting a county board of elections from keeping polls open an extra hour in extraordinary circumstances combat voter fraud?
1. How does cutting a week off of early voting combat voter fraud?
2. How does eliminating straight party ticket voting combat voter fraud?
3. How does eliminating pre-registration for 16 and 17 year olds combat voter fraud?
4. How does raising the limit on contributions by an individual from $4,000 to $5,000 combat voter fraud?
5. How does limiting early voting to one Sunday (when there used to be three Sundays) combat voter fraud?
6. How does prohibiting a county board of elections from keeping polls open an extra hour in extraordinary circumstances combat voter fraud?
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