- Persons with disabilities sometimes have access problems.wheelchair access sign image by Gina Smith from Fotolia.com
A 2002 report by the Government Accountability Office found that 56 percent of polling places had one or more factors that made it difficult for persons with disabilities to vote. More than one in four polling places had no curbside voting, as required by federal law for voters with disabilities. None of the polling places had special ballots or voting equipment for blind voters. - While many laws regarding voter intimidation focused on efforts in which minorities were discouraged to go to the polls in the Civil Rights era, a video from the 2008 election revealed conservatives complaining of intimidation. In the video, two white Republican activists working in heavily Democratic North Philadelphia complained that members of the New Black Panther Party had discouraged them from distributing literature by threat of force. The Panthers were charged with voter intimidation. The charges were later dropped.
- Voters have yet to put faith in electronic voting machines.Electronic boards image by uburwator from Fotolia.com
Following the lengthy vote-counting process in Florida between George W. Bush and Al Gore in the 2000 election, the federal government moved to mandate computerized voting in U.S. polling places. Numerous malfunctions have been reported. The Florida League of Conservation Voters compiled a list of complaints from a single election in New York State. The problems included a machine that "locked-up" each time a person voted. Poll workers reset the machine several times, causing people to become concerned that their votes were counted. In some cases, machines did not work. In others, a technician had not arrived to set up machines prior to the polls opening. Voters reported being forced to vote on paper because electronic machines were disabled. Paper ballots and old-style voting booths also faced problems. In some cases, levers have been reported as broken, or the ballot was not properly aligned with the hole-punch, causing people to vote for the wrong candidate. - Long lines could discourage some voters.Queue image by S??bastien Casassus from Fotolia.com
Voters are busy and often have only a small window of time to vote. When a polling place opens late, voters who may only have time to vote in the morning may be disenfranchised. Long lines are less of a problem, because voters who are in line at the time polls close are almost always allowed to vote. But a long line can present an inconvenience for some who may not have the time to vote. In some cases, advocates will go to court to ask that a polling place remain open later than normal when people fear that some places have opened late. - Voter registration rolls can be inaccurate.book, books -many books image by drx from Fotolia.com
Voters must register to be allowed to vote. In some cases, state authorities fearful that voters may be voting twice use various criteria to purge rolls of seemingly duplicate voters. This, in rare occasions, results in the elimination of legitimate voters from the rolls. As shown by a list of complaints compiled by the League of Conservation Voters, at times there have been voters who have complained that someone else has used their name to vote at the polls. - Beware of phone calls that remind you to vote on the wrong date.phone image by Eisenhans from Fotolia.com
Some electoral dirty tricks don't occur at the polling place. At times, people have reported advertisements or fliers that instruct them to vote on the wrong day, when polls are closed. In other cases, anonymous fliers or callers tell voters to go to the wrong polling location. - Most states have a Board of Elections that accepts complaints about irregularities at polling places. Complaints should be directed there. The U.S. Justice Department also investigates complaints of irregularities, especially in cases where minorities may have been illegally discouraged. Members of either the major political parties may contact their local party office for help lodging or resolving a complaint.
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