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Do IT this week: Layering
Ohio is a national leader in provisional ballots. That's not a good thing
Published on Tuesday, Jan 27, 2009
As reported over the weekend by Dennis Willard of the Beacon Journal Columbus bureau, preliminary results gave Obama an impressive but not record-breaking win in Ohio, a somewhat dampened result in view of expectations. Jennifer Brunner, the secretary of state, initially reported that 5.6 million Ohioans voted. When results were certified five weeks later, the turnout stood at 5.8 million.
What explained the difference? Uncounted provisional and absentee ballots, not enough to affect the outcome between Obama and John McCain, but enough to set records — and increase pressure to simplify and standardize voting rules to drop the number of potentially disputed ballots.
Just put the 207,537-vote difference between initial and final numbers this past November in the context of the 1976 presidential election. Jimmy Carter beat Gerald Ford by 11,116 votes in Ohio.
The state has made much progress since 2000, scrapping punch-card voting under the Help America Vote Act and adopting technologies that prevent or greatly lessen chances for overvoting, which invalidates ballots. No-fault absentee voting proved an improvement, easing lines on Election Day.
For all that, Ohio remains a heavy user of provisional ballots, cast by voters when registration is in question and counted only after verification. Other states manage a far lower number of provisional ballots. The trouble here resides mainly in this state's inaccurate voter-registration lists and a needlessly confusing voter-identification law.
Brunner has recognized the goal to simplify and standardize election procedures, with repairing provisional balloting a top priority. She is proceeding with a comprehensive review, Gov. Ted Strickland having wisely vetoed a hastily crafted Republican bill in the lame-duck session.
No election will ever reach perfection, and it is difficult to envision a battleground state such as Ohio escaping lawsuits given the scrutiny that has grown common since the 2000 presidential meltdown. But in the end, reducing the number of provisional ballots is not just about avoiding lawsuits, although that's a worthy goal. It's about making the system as user-friendly as possible, expanding turnout even beyond what Barack Obama achieved last year.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Posted 01:01 PM, 01/27/2009
Ohio appears to be kinda like Florida. Maybe we shouldn't have all these Senior citizens running the poles and maybe we wouldn't have a provisional ballet problem. Or are we trying to be like MN and keep counting until they get the number they want!
