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
5″ warning given for the Romney concession speech…
Republicans are going to have to do some real rebuilding if they want to go anywhere in 2016.
SwM,
I think Bob went to bed. Slarti, on the other hand, never sleeps.
With the last big three states electoral votes wise calling or trending Obama with high 90 percentiles reporting?
Romney needs to pony up that concession speech.
They’re now calling VA for Obama. That’s 303 to 203.
Blouise, I wont be playing Scrabble until tomorrow.
This cake is almost baked.
Looks like Ohio just massively shifted Obama.
And you’re right of course, Mike. But isn’t that just like a far right wing nut? Brings a gun to a drone fight.
We may yet see a populist uprising in this country some day with the path we are on (thanks to both parties) but it isn’t going to be over this Presidential election. It’ll be after the government does something really horrible and stupid where a lot of citizens die at their hand for no other reason than dreams of fascist authoritarian totalitarianism and it won’t be like a revolution. It’ll be anarchy as anyone who works for the government or a big corporation in management becomes a target. But I’ll quit channelling Aldous Huxley for now. 😀
97% Virginia O 50 R 48.6
I’m going to play some Scrabble and chat with Bob and Slarti
I hope you are wrong Mike A.
The sad truth is that by tomorrow morning we will be seeing lots of talk about those Second Amendment remedies.
Virginia just flopped back to Romney with 32% reporting.
I like your thinking, Gene. Mr. Rove has a lot of justifyin’ to do.
Yeah, Blouise, but I’m hoping that is one sales job that fails. Rove is a cancer on the body politic. He needs to go the way of the Edsel.
Gene,
I agree that Rove and the hundreds of millions spent in a losing case s going bring him down a few notches.
lol
The Donald didn’t lose it, W=^..^
He never had it. But now he officially a seditionist. So he’s got that going for him. And that marmot on top of his head. Which is nice.
Gene,
He’s just selling it to the Networks … otherwise Romney would have had to concede before 11:30pm … gotta save face anyway you can.
Wow, Swarthmoremom….he really has lost it…I think it’s been metaphorically said to the Donald…”You’r Fired”….
I’m sure you’re right, Blouise. But mathematically I see how Rove is selling his wishful thinking to his customers in the upper echelons of the GOP. His reputation as a fixer is going to take a beating over this election. If there are any unintended consequences of how things have played out, Rove being marginalized would not be a bad one.