Big News On Election Day: There's No Big News!

As we were preparing for this blog, we prepped dozens of grassroots organizations around the country to pounce on stories of overwhelmed and malfunctioning polling places or outrageous voter suppression. And to be sure, we've heard some disconcerting tales --- from a repeat immigration raid timed for Election Day in Postville, Iowa, to riot police preparing to take the streets in Toledo, Ohio.

But it seems to us, the overwhelming story this election is that while voter turnout appears to be on track for a record high --- thanks in no small part to the work of community organizations across the country turning out voters, including the ones on this blog --- democracy has survived mostly unscathed and the election appears to be going smoothly.

The media and blogosphere seems to be exaggerating every report of the slightest problem, and while I don't mean to suggest any reports of wrongdoing and suppression should be ignored, it does seem that at the end of the day, we will be able to celebrate the day that our democracy was tested by overwhelming enthusiasm and came out the other end having proved itself durable.

Am I wrong?

VIRGINIA: Organizing Prevents Voter Suppression

We were hearing a lot of alarming news reports about problems with long lines, machine malfunctions, and dirty tricks in Virginia. So, I contacted Joe Szakos, Director of the Virginia Organizing Project, to get the real story and find out how bad things really are. I have to admit that I was hoping for disaster, but it turns out that things really aren’t as bad as SOME IN the media would like us to believe – thanks to smart organizing by a coalition of 13 organizations across the state, working with a team of lawyers.

“Honestly, the reports of polling site problems and voter suppression are overblown,” Joe told me. “Things certainly haven’t been perfect, but a lot of work was done in advance to make sure Election Day wasn’t a disaster in the Commonwealth.”

Joe says that the concerns about long lines at polling sites are real. The lines are very long; some reports say that people have 5-hour waits ahead of them, but that’s only in a few places. In most places, people were in line for an hour at most. Also, anyone who is in line by 7:00 P.M. – the official closing time for the polls in Virginia – will be able to vote.

There have also been reports about machine malfunctions and machine shortages. However, a lot of groups organized to make sure that their local registrars planned for the increased turnout this election. For instance, in Charlottesville, they were using the electronic machines, but the local registrar – after discussions with local leaders – made sure that people also had the option to use the old-style paper ballots.

Joe told me that many of the stories about dirty tricks and concerns about student disenfranchisement were actually old news. For instance, there have been a lot of public service announcements and other communications in Virginia to make sure that people don’t fall for the fliers and robo-calls telling people to vote tomorrow.

“In a lot of ways it hasn’t been as bad as we thought it might be, so we are very relieved,” Joe told me. It’s encouraging to know that organizations around Virginia anticipated the problems and took action to ensure that there were plans in place to mitigate any potential obstacles to full voter participation.

IOWA: Voters report mix-ups and "spoiled" ballots in Iowa

We have an article from the Des Moines Register about voting problems in Iowa, It features Hugh Espey of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI), whose organization helped break the story about student voting problems:

Election Day brought voter registration mix-ups in Des Moines, broken ballot scanners in Indianola, “spoiled” ballots in Urbandale and a voting controversy at Grinnell College.

Members of a special precinct board will review a challenge to 50 Grinnell students’ absentee ballots at a hearing Thursday. Leaders of the Poweshiek County Republican Party wanted election officials to toss the votes because the students used the school’s mailing address on the ballots instead of their own campus addresses.

Grinnell College students have their own post office box numbers. The complaint, filed Monday, alleges the school’s mailing address doesn’t match the students’ residential addresses.

County officials said they didn’t know if the flap would impact election results there. But community activists urged election officials not to delay in resolving the matter.

“These students should not be penalized for following the guidelines,” said Hugh Espey, executive director of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, in a statement.

Read the rest here.

Voter Suppression: Stories from the South

Take a look at some of these stories from Facing South about voting problems in the South:

• http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/ - VA, GA and FL are the "ground zeros" of today's election – specifically VA. In VA, there has been: votes of college-aged students blocked, precincts overwhelmed and dirty tricks like flyers robo-calls with misinformation. The piece includes links on stories for each.

• http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/11/voting-rights-watch-virginia-tech.asp - Earlier this election season, the voting registrar for Blacksburg, Va. issued a statement threatening a loss of student aid and other serious repercussions if students at Virginia Tech registered to vote using an on-campus address. Though the registrar eventually retracted the statement, students at the school are facing other problems this Election Day – the major polling precinct in the area has registered 5,000 voters, double the legal limit for a single polling location.

• http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/11/voting-rights-watch-voter-protection.asp - Because of the various issues in the state (including massive machine failures, more than two dozen precincts opening late, voters turned away from the polls, and voter intimidation) Election Protection will extend its hours in Virginia tonight.

• http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/11/voting-rights-watch-fl-and-ga-leading.asp - 80,000 voters so far have called the Election Protection hotline -- 1-866-OUR-VOTE -- the national number set up by non-profits to handle voter problems, according to the Huffington Post. Election Protection reported yesterday that Florida and Georgia have been leaders nationally in complaints. The piece goes on to detail some of the issues facing the states.

• http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/11/voting-rights-watch-gas-inconsistent.asp - Details of the massive voter purging in Georgia that are thought to have lead to the large number of callas to the Election Protection hotline today.
  

COLORADO VOTER SUPPRESSION: Spanish-Speaking Voters Air Complaints in Weld County

This just in! Our friends at the Colorado Progressive Coalition report that some Spanish-speaking voters were given voting instructions that were printed only in English and that few translators were available to explain them.

Here's the story.

VIRGINIA: AYUDA Reports From the Ground

AYUDA provides an update about on-the-ground efforts in Virginia to get out the vote, particularly in immigrant communities:

AYUDA is one of the region's most well-known organizations that provide legal services for immigrants. This year, we conducted a Latino Voter Engagement drive, focusing on key counties in Northern Virginia. Our activities ranged from polling Latino's about what issues are important to them when they vote to holding voter registration drives at festivals and soccer tournaments. The main goal of the program was to ensure that more Latinos participated in this election. Although there is a significant population of Latino voters, in previous elections they have turned out at much lower levels then other communities. Our GOTV efforts, up to election day, have strived to make this a possibility.

Despite the menacing weather, voters in Northern Virginia are turning out in full-force. The polling places that I visited in Woodbridge, Annandale, Springfield, Chantilly, and Centreville all seemed to be working smoothly. The most common problem facing the voters is sheer volume. Fortunately the lines have shortened as the day has progressed, especially after the lunch hour. I would venture to guess that they will grow again at the end of the work day; luckily Virginia's polls are open until 7 p.m.

Our day isn't all about checking the polling places, rather about getting people the reminders the want and need. Many Latino voters who we contacted during our GOTV phone bankings asked for email, calls,and text message reminders the day of the election.One of the voters who asked for an email reminder thanked me and enthusiastically said "ya estoy listo para votar", I am very ready to vote.

This sentiment is felt across board. Arriving at a polling place, one can detect an energy created by all of the excitement. This is such a historical year, and people want to be a part of it. One of the AYUDA staff members shared the story about her father. He is a first time voter this year becuase he has recently become a US citizen after living in the US as a legal resident for over 20 years. He was so excited by the process, and so inspired by one of the candidates, that he took off work today to make sure that he could cast his vote. As a truck driver, he would have been out of the state today and he was not willing to miss out on having his voice heard.

Today has not been free from complications, however. One voter in Fairfax county was turned away from the polls today because she had requested an absentee ballot but had decided to vote in person instead. She called Fairfax County and they told her that she should bring her absentee ballot to the poll and that she could vote in person. However, when she arrived they told her that she couldn't. She talked to an election protection person and has now travelled to the Fairfax County government center to get this taken care of.

Because of the long lines, some voters are experiencing setbacks. One voter in Alexandria had to wait in line over an hour, even though she arrived at 6:10 a.m. Fortunately, those who showed up for the polls an hour later were not faced with the same wait. The same voter had problems with the poll workers when she asked for a paper ballot. They tried to convince her of how great the electronic voting machines are, but eventually she was able to use a paper ballot as requested.

Since our staff and volunteers have offered to share their observations, I am also able to report on areas outside of Northern Virginia, including Germantown, Maryland. Claus Ortega, AYUDA's office manager arrived at the voting place in Germantown at 8 am and had to wait in line 1.25 hours. Claus noted that this is the first time in an election that he saw so many people in line early in the morning, but they all looked calm and happy to be there, there was a lot of cooperation from everybody in keeping order and helping anyone who wasn't sure what to do.He also noticed that there were no campaign workers distributing pamphlets or advising voters and that the amount of voting machines has been reduced to about 10 compared to previous elections in which there about 30. Another change was that at the beginning that caught Claus' attention was that he was asked for more personal information to get his voting card (first four letters of his last name plus first two letters of his first name plus the month and day of his birthday plus the name of the street where he resides.) In previous years, there were tables for diferent alphabet groups and all he needed to do was to provide his last name.

Although we have a few hours to go to see how many people turned out, at this point it is looking promising. From seeing the overflowing polling places, hearing accounts of much higher numbers from previous years, and the sheer excitement exuded by voters, it is easy to see that the turn out numbers will not be disappointing.

OHIO: Police Ordered To Have Riot Gear Ready For Election Day "Unrest"

An unbelievable report out of Toledo, Ohio, of police officers ordered to wear riot gear to deal with possible unrest during and after today's election. We're still looking for more eyewitness accounts of this from the ground. Let us know if you know anything or have pictures to share.

FLORIDA VOTER TURNOUT: Updates from the Miami Workers Center

Our friend Joseph Phelan from the Miami Workers Center -- and author of this great article "Why Vote Then?" -- sent us the following updates about what's going on down in Miami on Election Day ... and check out their videos about Election Day on their youtube channel!

Here in Miami things got off to a start with long lines but by mid morning the lines seemed to evaporate. There haven’t been any major reported problems for voters. The main thing we are seeing is a lack of education around state amendments. A lot of people are showing up to the polls ready to vote for the president but not at all informed on the entire ballot.

We have also had some problems with poll workers who are aggressively trying to keep us away from voters. We have every right to talk with voters, educate them about the actual ballot, and check in with them to see if they have any problems. But some poll deputies are not really interested in having us near the polls.

But in some good news, we organized poll workers at a couple of different precincts to hand out our flyers, which include voting rights/process and an invitation to our results party tonight.

This morning several voter defense teams left from the Miami Workers Center at 6:30. They headed out to check on 21 different polling sites to ensure they opened on time. There are no reports of big problems at the polls besides the long lines.

Below are some brief reflections from a couple of members:

Chris Rice, LIFFT Member
"This morning we went to several precincts to make sure they opened on time. There weren't any real problems yet. The lines are long. But people are ready. A lot of people said they would stay out regardless of weather. They were determined. I got real pumped up from seeing all those young people out there. It is great to see all those young folks. They all want to be a part of history by voting. We pushed the issue of vote no on 2." [Note: If Amendment 2 is approved by voters it will write into the Florida state constitution that no union will be recognized besides a marriage between a man and woman. This will severely limit rights for gay and straight couples by outlawing civil unions and domestic partnership]

Mia Dennis, LIFFT member, MWC Canvasser
Speaking about organizing at the polls -
"If you are an outspoken person it is going to be kind of hard. You should start it off letting people know about their rights. Let them know how to handle the ballot. Then after that you talk to them about continuing to build power after the election and inviting them to our party. You go from talking about voting and their rights and then about building community power. "

IOWA VOTER SUPPRESSION: Student Registrations Being Challenged

We just got this report from Adam Mason at Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement:

Sounds like a team of Republican Lawyers is challenging student registrations. This is something we are monitoring now. One of our staffers is a recent graduate from Grinnell College, so we got some word of this last night. It is also in one of our targeted areas, so we want to learn more about what is going on on the ground --- but just wanted to give you a heads up.

http://iowaindependent.com/8068/students-face-ballot-challenges-in-battleground-district

In response, the students have re-registered (same day registered) students who were challenged at their dorm room address, and there are quite a few questions in with county officials.

VIRGINIA VOTER STORIES: Voter Hassles On The Ground

We got two updates from Paula at AYUDA in DC and Northern Virginia. Unfortunately, it sounds like people are having some difficulties in both Alexandria and Fairfax County. Are other people getting attitude when they ask for paper ballots?

My friend just called me. She was turned away from the polls today because she had requested an absentee ballot but had decided to vote in person instead. She called Fairfax County and they told her that she should bring her absentee ballot to the poll and that she could vote in person. However, when she arrived they told her that she couldn't. She talked to an election protection person and has now travelled to the FFx Co. government center to get this taken care of.

-- Paula, AYUDA

My sister who voted in Alexandria city experienced a 1 hour line after arriving at 6:10. She said the line was shorter though for the people who arrived at 7:00am. She requested a paper ballot and was given a bit of attitude for that though, and was told that the electronic voting machines were great, etc.
-- Paula, AYUDA

Voting Rights Watch In The South

The Institute for Southern Studies has been doing some great work documenting voter suppression in the south. Check these articles out.

• LONG WAITS CONTINUE TO MAR EARLY VOTING - The failure of states to prepare for massive turnout on Election Day will lead to enormously long lines and long waits that will discourage voters before and on November 4th.
  
• FLORIDA NO-MATCH LISTS GROWS TO 12,165 VOTERS - The St. Petersburg Times reports that over 12,000 voters are on Florida's "no match" List - meaning their identities have not been verified and their votes could be uncounted on Election Day