Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics, Society

Waiting For Democracy

As the polls grind to a close, various images linger from the humorous of a surfer voting in California fresh from the beach with his board to the inspiring of a woman in labor insisting on voting before going to the hospital. However, one image remains consistent across the country: absurdly long line. Despite scandals from 2008 of people waiting for hours to vote, election officials have again produced endless lines by failing to produce adequate voting machines for the expected vote in many areas. My voting place in McLean was wonderful – enough machines and short lines. However, I have heard nightmare stories from others around the region including over three hour waits in Maryland.

I helped cover the last election in 2008 for CBS and recall discussing the lines in Ohio where people literally passed out waiting to vote. My students reported waiting for as long as three hours in Virginia. One student from New York applied for an absentee ballot almost two months ago and never received it. From New Jersey to Florida to Ohio, people are legitimately irate that after many billions of dollars in federal funds, states continue to fail to consistently offer sufficient resources for citizens across the country. We should have a consistent benchmark standard that voters should be able to get in line and vote within 30 minutes.

The lack of resources comes with suspicions of a planned failure. In Ohio in 2004, we were struck by the consistently long lines in Democratic and minority areas. We pressed the Kerry campaign whether it would challenge the pattern across the state. At first, the campaign indicated that it would but then Kerry himself threw in the towel. Now, four years later (and 12 years after the Florida disaster) we are again left astonished by the lines – forcing voters to wait for hours despite work and family obligations. Nevertheless, politicians continue to express contempt for the relatively low percentages of people voting while repeatedly failing to meet this very basic function of a democracy. Once again, billions evaporated into the pockets of lobbyists and contractors while the lines again appear around the country.

This evening on national news two stories were shown by NBC News. If you turned off the sound, it would seem that the network repeated the story. It showed endless lines of tired people. However, the first story was a line of voters at a typical voting place while the second story was a line of hurricane victims. After the debacles in 2000 and 2008, we are still faced with chaotic polling places with lines stretching for blocks. It is not just an insult to our citizens but a recurring embarrassment for the world’s leading democracy.

Jonathan Turley

141 thoughts on “Waiting For Democracy”

  1. Thanks, Darren. I’ll keep that in mind. If the tide shifts that way, I’d certainly love to get your input.

  2. Good luck, LK. As much as I loathe McCaskill, she is so much better than the alternative.

  3. Gene:

    I’ve wanted to visit Iceland since I was in grade school but never gotten around to it. Flown over it is as close as I got. I knew a person who was stationed at the Keflavik base there and enjoyed living in Iceland.

    Washington is a pretty good state to live in depending on what you want and where you live. I’ve lived here for over 4 decades so I know it pretty well if you are interested in ideas.

  6. I can do that.

    And I’ll do my best to save you from the fury of the Smurf ASAP. 😀

  7. do you clean the cat box?

    …please hurry with that android, the Smurf is killing me!

  9. Iceland has its strong points. 😀 An endless supply of geothermal power and incredible broadband for one thing. And killer seafood.

    We could run away together. I am cat people. :mrgreen:

  10. W=^..^

    But if the mail in ballots have receipts and a count is challenged, you at least have a paper trail.

    BTW, I’m still having issues keeping the Android sim stable for longer than about 45 minutes. I hope to be playing WWF with you again soon regardless.

  11. Gene H.
    1, November 6, 2012 at 9:26 pm
    I really like that model, Darren. I’m a big fan of a paper trail. I’ve been thinking of moving and that’s certainly a point in favor of Washington State.
    ———————————–
    me too…..Iceland is looking good……

  12. They are reporting both a Romney and an Obama victory with only 3% reporting. Very weird.

  13. Bruce
    1, November 6, 2012 at 8:14 pm
    This could be easily eliminated just vote by mail for the price of a stamp.
    —————-
    because no one has EVER tampered with te U.S. mail…..

  14. Be warned.

    Something odd just happened on HuffPo’s data map in the Wisconsin reporting. It could be a transient bug or it could be a serious break down. We’ll see.

  15. You’re welcome, id707. I tend to like my data like I like my tuna – raw and artfully presented. I normally view HP with a jaundice eye, but on this kind of stuff, their IT people are really good.

  16. I really like that model, Darren. I’m a big fan of a paper trail. I’ve been thinking of moving and that’s certainly a point in favor of Washington State.

  17. Thanks for the link. At least I escaped the meaningless babble, re-hash of Romney’s campaign, and dead air from Democracy Plaza (where is that?). The view from the Obama HQ was a dark street view of people watching re-runs from the convention. From Romney, all were sitting like “Oscar”
    folks listening to a proffs rehearsed rundown, oozing confidence of course.

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