Democracy Withheld for 299 Virginia Residents
February 29th, 2008
Tara J Young
Tara is a Fellow at FairVote.
Be heard; vote! 299 Virginia residents drove, walked and bussed to the polls to vote in the Democratic Presidential Primary only to be silenced by Virginia’s election officials.
According to The Times-Dispatch, many polling places in Chesterfield County ran out of ballots so the Chesterfield County’s election officials thought quickly to solve the problem – allow voters to vote using blank sheets. Problem solved. Democracy evident.
Not!
After attempting not to disenfranchise hundreds of voters, the state’s board of election voted to disenfranchise them.
Nancy Rodrigues, who is the secretary for the board, said they could not count the votes because the written format violated election law, and only approved emergency ballots could be counted. However, she went on to say in the article, if the ballot was copied on a blank sheet of paper it would have been counted.
Huh?
Chairman John N. Clifford, who is with the Chesterfield Board, told the reporter, “I think they had it within their discretion to count them, and I think they should have counted the votes.â€
I agree. The voters followed directions, and they should not be punished for the lack of planning done by the state. There were over twenty states that caucused or voted before Virginia, and each state reported a record-breaking voter turnout. Virginia officials did not take heed, and voters were forced to vote using a sheet of paper and not a ballot.
The officials of Virginia should have rewarded the voters’ effort and counted their votes.
What do you think?
Is this democracy withheld for 299 Virginia residents?
Other posts by Tara J Young
- Oregon's Secretary of State race is Set. Kate Brown (D) will run against Rick Dancer (R) - May 21st, 2008
- Oregon voters will Decide if Less is More - May 19th, 2008
- West Virginia nominates candidates for Secretary of State - May 14th, 2008
- Nuns, turned away. No room for those without ID - May 6th, 2008
- It’s Hot in Oregon and it’s not the Weather - May 2nd, 2008
- Are You a Missing Voter? Got Milk? - May 1st, 2008
- FairVote goes to Philly; Young Citizens want a New Habit - March 19th, 2008
- James E. Orange, Voting Rights Pioneer, dead but never forgotten - March 4th, 2008
- Democracy Withheld for 299 Virginia Residents - February 29th, 2008
March 12th, 2008 at 9:43 am
No polling place ever should run out of ballots. The appropriate policy is to print as many ballots as there are registered voters in the area that place serves.
For jurisdictions with on-site registration, the appropriate policy is to print as many ballots as there are voting-eligible persons in the area that place serves.
We are talking about pieces of paper here. Of all the ways to govern on the cheap, under-printing ballots seems particularly risky.
I wonder how decisions are made re: the number to print. A function of past turnout?
By the way, good to see you on the blog, Tara.