The Root: Battle of the Ballot

The Coming Fight on Election Day

In an article for The Root, journalist Kai Wright writes: "For all the talk about the 'Bradley effect,' the margin of error may not be the one created by whites who won't put their votes where their polling mouths will. Barack Obama's more serious hurdle may be winning big enough to make up for the votes that never actually get cast or counted."

Wright was online Wednesday, October 29 at 12 noon ET to talk about the lawsuits, voting technology snafus, new photo ID laws at polling places and other things that are making election watchdogs and voters alike very nervous about what will happen next week on Election Day. His article for The Root is titled "Battle of the Ballot."

A transcript follows.

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Kai Wright: Hello, and thanks for joining us. I'm Kai Wright, and have been covering the battle over voter access for TheRoot.com. We've got less than a week to go until Election Day, and an expected historic voter turnout. That's great news, but the fight over ballot access vs. ballot security is more pitched than ever as well. So I look forward to getting your questions about the challenges ahead, and how voters can confront them.

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Arlington, VA: Is there a serious national effort by the GOP to suppress the vote, whether it's legal or not? There often seems to be little or no penalty, so this would seem like a good strategy to help McCain.

Kai Wright: Absolutely. The GOP has been unapologetic since 2000 about its organized effort to ensure what it calls "ballot security." But as both research and journalism has widely reported at this point, actual fraudulent voting is mythical. Nonetheless, the Justice Department has transformed the Voting Rights Division from a body to protect blacks' right to vote into one focused on making voting more difficult. With the Dept.'s implicit and explicit backing, local Republican parties have used many different tactics to limit voter access since 2000. And we're seeing that in several states this year.

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Falls Church, VA: All of my colleagues from Northern Virginia are worried about casting their votes next Tuesday. Why doesn't Gov. Kaine just go ahead and announce an extension of voting hours now? The current hours are too short and end far too early for those of us who have long commutes from work in DC. I barely made it in time to cast my vote in the primary last spring and many friends who were stuck in traffic didn't get to vote at all.

Kai Wright: Their worries are justified. Virginia is likely to be one of the states where we see the longest delays. The Advancement Project conducted an analysis of the resources available vs. the expected turnout in several counties and precincts. Taking the most conservative turnout estimates, the analysis found several jurisdictions where it would simply be impossible to process voters within the alloted time. In Alexandria, it would take 16 hours at the most conservative estimate and nearly 22 if turnout reaches it's highest estimate. The analysis also found that majority people of color precincts throughout the state are more likely to have too few voting machines and poll workers to meet the expected demand.

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Washington, D.C.: Great summary and analysis! Using supposed lists of foreclosed homes to tell folks they can't vote -- that'll be another thing to watch out for...

Kai Wright: We've seen foreclosure lists used (or, plans for their use, at least) already this year. It's part of a tactic called voter "caging" that dates back to 1958, when GOP first started using it to block black voters. The idea is to create a list of people who may have administrative errors in their registration--due to an incorrect address--and issue mass challenges to their right to vote. This both gums up the registration process and justifies sending thousands of "monitors" to the polls on Election Day to slow down the voting process. In 2004, for instance, the GOP sent 1,400 challengers to Ohio's Cuyahoga County. Not coincidentally, that's where we saw historically long waits to vote.

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Rockville, MD: One side (Republicans) shouts "Voter Fraud" while the other side (Democrats) shouts "Voter Suppression". Unless the election results in a landslide, I don't see how there won't be at least 1 major lawsuit after this election. Has "winning" become the be-all and end-all?

Kai Wright: I have to say, the two shouts aren't the same. The voter fraud shout is a deliberate tactic to justify blocking voters in majority Democratic jurisdictions--which, by the way, happen to overlap with black districts. We've spent decades undoing Jim Crow laws meant to thwart blacks' right to vote, and the suppression shouts are based in that concern. Further, we have demonstrable proof of it--more than 13 million voters were purged from the rolls between 2004 and 2006, with little to no transparency. The GOP has yet to produce meaningful examples of the "fraud" that justifies this sort of massive purging.

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Falls Church, Va.: Has there ever been any evidence from recent years that efforts to suppress voting actually have any effect? For instance, one always hears stories about fliers making false statements about polling locations or which day is election day, but one never sees any follow-up stories where an actual person says that he or she was prevented from voting thereby.

Kai Wright: Good question. In part, it's proving a negative: We won't know how many students decide not to vote because someone inaccurately told them that registering where they go to school would jeopardize their loans, for instance. But we do have proof that the totality of these efforts works in at least one way--it makes voting a longer, more complicated process in largely black and/or Democratic districts. We need only look to Cleveland in 2004 to see the outcome.

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Portland, OR: With early voting already underway, do you feel that either the volume of, or the boldness of the disenfranchisement attempts is different this year compared to 2004 or 2000?

Kai Wright: Early voting will make a huge difference, though we're seeing folks with lengthy waits there already, too. But local officials interested in doing their jobs are strongly encouraging people to vote early. The biggest suppression tactic is making chaos on Election Day, so as to discourage new and first time voters. The more people who vote in advance, the less stress on the system on Election Day.

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Long Lines: How would you recommend that the federal government solve the quadrennial problem of poor districts in states not being able to handle even 35-40% turnout of voters?

Kai Wright: Well, our system leaves power to administer elections to the states. But the reality is that these resource disparities track along racial lines and therefore represent voting rights violations. The Justice Department needs to be aggressive about making sure states fairly and effectively distribute their election resources.

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Bloomington, Ind: Hello Kai. If Obama is elected do you think that the new Attorney General will be empowered to reverse the suppression of voters and become more aggressive in bringing lawsuits against those areas in states that have been actively targeting minorities? Also, any thoughts on who an Obama Attorney General might be?

Kai Wright: I certainly hope so. And there's good reason to believe that will be the case. The Obama campaign has been aggressive on this question all year, and has made the legal and political case that GOP voter fraud schemes are part of a systemic effort to disenfranchise voters. And remember, this used to be the central job of the Justice Department's Voting Rights division. But that work got so perverted under Bush that over half of the career legal staff quit or got reassigned after the 2004 elections. Over half. The division brought history's first ever case arguing that blacks had violated whites' voting rights (in Mississippi), while not bringing a single case on behalf of blacks for five years into the administration.

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A Voter: If voters encounter obstacles at the polls, the answer is to insist on the right to vote. If still thwarted, insist on speaking to a poll supervisor. We can't afford to let McCain and Palin in office, not with a organized, intelligent, super opponent like Barack Obama and an expert in foreign affairs like Joe Biden. Don't let opposition keep you from voting. To avoid lines at the polls, I got an absentee ballot, and, while some people actually like to press buttons or pull levers, it's the surest way to vote without interference -- unless the P.O. dumps your envelope. Take heart and be stubborn and vote!

Kai Wright: This is an absolutely crucial point: The most important thing voters can do is refuse to leave without casting a vote. If you get deterred by the lines, you've allowed your vote to be stolen. If your vote is challenged on administrative grounds, ask for a provisional ballot. And help your neighbors do the same.

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Jacksonville, FL: McCain's going to pull this out. It's one thing to tell a pollster you're voting for Obama. It's another thing to pass through a police checkpoint, wait 3 hours in line, then make your way past a pollwatcher to vote. Fact is, in GOP areas we have many more voting machines and much shorter lines. Do the Obama people REALLY have such a good GOTV operation to overcome just one pollwatcher gumming up the works at a precinct. I don't think so.

Kai Wright: We'll see. But there's a larger point here: Whoever you support, and whether you fear voter suppression or voter fraud, the best solution is to show up and vote no matter what. Either way, the thing has to be close enough to steal. And massive turnout for your candidate will prevent that.

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Midlothian, VA: I guess I don't see the problem. If you are registered to vote, then you vote. If you are improperly registered, then you can't. Aggressively enforcing existing rules doesn't seem like voter suppression; we all have to play by the same rules.

Kai Wright: The issue is far more than that. Yes, if you are improperly registered, you should fix it. But part of election officials' job is helping get that done, and the purpose of these mass voter challenges is to prevent an orderly process that allows administrative errors to get sorted. Further, whose fault are the administrative errors? We saw in Fla.'s new system that huge numbers of those originally purged because of improper registration just had typos. Finally, it's not just those who have registration problems who get harmed. Because both the vote challenges and resource shortages are disproportionately located in poor, black and/or Dem jurisdictions, all voters there are harmed by the resulting chaos.

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long lines: Is there any guess when the best time to go is? What if you have to leave the line to use the bathroom, do you lose your spot? I'm afraid to vote early (Virginia) because I don't believe those are really counted.

Kai Wright: For this and any other question about the logistics of voting in your precinct, never hesitate to contact your board of election and ask. The high traffic times are morning and evening, predictably. It's just like the DMV--try going when you think others won't be able to make it. And why not take a friend or family member with you? That way you can help each other both weather the wait and ask questions when they come up--or just save each other's spot on line when you need a break.

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Springfield, VA: For the Falls Church poster - if you're doing work or a work-related commute for 11 of the 13 hours the VA polling places are open, you can vote early. I live in Springfield, and with my commute downtown, I'm out of the house from 6 am to 5:30 pm, enabling me to vote early (which I already did). If you work for the federal govt, they give you excused leave to come in late or leave early to vote.

Kai Wright: I can't confirm this info, but this is an example of how everyone concerned about voter access can fight it: learn your rights and help your fellow citizens do the same. One of the hopeful things about this battle is that it has encouraged many people to learn about their voting rights and facilitated communal support systems that can last beyond an election.

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Fairfax, VA: It seems to me that those who engage in voter suppression aren't comfortable with democracy. Am I wrong?

Kai Wright: They never have been. Many tactics being used today were pioneered as part of the systematic effort to keep blacks from voting. There is little new about today's fight over access to the polls. That's sad, but as voters and as democrats (small "d"), we don't have to tolerate it. The best solution is to show up to vote in record numbers and refused to be deterred, no matter how long the line.

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Savannah, GA: Do you know Mark Naymik? He's on another WaPo chat right now disagreeing with you about Ohio (though he probably doesn't know he's disagreeing with you).

Mark Naymik: And people worry that the GOP will send party members into the polls to challenge voters in Democratic areas on Election Day. From what I've seen in past elections, such challenges do not really take place. I have not seen GOP volunteers in heavily Democratic areas challenging voters.

You say it has happened in Cleveland. Who's right?

washingtonpost.com: Live Discussion: Election 2008 Key States: Ohio with Mark Naymik of the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Kai Wright: For a thorough (but still readable) history of GOP's use of challengers at the polls check out a Sept. 2007 report by a group called Project Vote. Here's a link to the PDF: http://www.projectvote.org/fileadmin/ProjectVote/Publications/Caging_Democracy_Report.pdf

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New York NY: Where the hell is the news media on this?? Kai, your account just in this chat alone is much more alarming (in terms of the breadth and depth of GOP vote-suppression tactics) than I'd been led to believe.

It's great that the Post gives you the space for chats like these, but they OUGHT to have a couple of star reporters running this story to the ground and giving it front page news! Instead, the media seems to be collectively ho-ummming abou the whole thing. Apparently they just don't take our right to vote all that seriously.

Are any other reporters engaged on this story that you know of?

washingtonpost.com: It's getting late in the hour but just to start, here is an article from the front of today's Post Metro section about issues in Virginia. I'll let Kai add any suggestions he has of journalists or publications (besides himself!) doing a lot of stories on this issue.

Kai Wright: Art Levine wrote a fabulous report on the generation of the voter fraud myth and its utility in voter suppression in the American Prospect. Don't have the link, but search by his name at www.prospect.org

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Kai Wright: Thanks for all your great questions. Apologies for not getting to many of them! But here's the take-home: Go vote. Do it early if you can. And don't leave until you've cast a vote, no matter what. And here's one more great resource for information about voting, and to report problems in your district: http://www.866ourvote.org/. Thanks, and happy voting!

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