Sunday: 4,000 people in a half-mile voting line in Cincinnati

[Coyotl]

There are 4,000 people in a half-mile voting line in Cincinnati today. This isn’t okay.
Libby Nelson@libbyanelson Nov 6, 2016

And this isn’t unique to Cincinnati. Long lines stretching for hours, with hundreds of people waiting for their turn to cast a ballot, have been a feature of the final weekend before Election Day. The early voting line at North Carolina State University stretched on seemingly endlessly, with hundreds of people waiting .........

[SHRED]

1. The fact that we have long voting lines in this country

Is a problem.

[Coyotl]

2. Hundreds march to Board of Elections to cast ballots, protest dearth of early-voting location

Hundreds march to Board of Elections to cast ballots, protest dearth of early-voting location
Evan MacDonald, cleveland.com October 30, 2016

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Several hundred voters marched to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections on Sunday to cast ballots and protest the limited number of in-house early voting locations in Ohio.

The marchers departed at 2:30 p.m. from the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and traveled a half-mile to the Board of Elections headquarters on Euclid Avenue.

Greater Cleveland Congregations and the Amalgamated Transit Union organized the event to encourage Cuyahoga County residents to vote early before the general election on Nov. 8.

But the march also highlighted the fact that ballots cast in person before the election must be filled out at the Board of Elections. The marchers feel the state should provide multiple locations for early voting, organizer Khalilah Worley said.

"The fact that the only place they can vote early is at the Board of Elections is a reflection on the priority the state gives this issue," Worley said.

.............

[still_one]

5. The republicans control number of polling places and machines. I am not sure what

Democrats can do to overcome this, unless they get into political control back in the state

This was 2 days ago. I hope the Democratic party was out there to supply water and food to those in line, and have wheel chairs available if someone cannot handle standing that long. That is one thing they can do

[Auggie]

6. Planned voter suppression?

You bet. Ohio can get ugly.

[Coyotl]

10. This can backfire when it happens to early voting. Turnout = engagement in the election

and this enrages people and gets them involved in and concerned about the situation. Thus, on election day the turnout can increase among the offended groups.

[Auggie]

18. Let's hope so (n/t)

[NJRick1006]

7. A disgrace

This is something I have been worried about for months. This is rhetorical, but why are the ReThugs afraid of allowing everyone easy access to the polls? There should be some sort of Federal requirement that there must by "X number of voting machines available per X thousand of registered voters in a district". There are probably more the enough machines allocated in low-population, rural, Republican controlled areas.

Hopefully everyone has patience tomorrow. We really should have a voting weekend where polls are open on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

[greatlaurel]

8. One of my relatives was in that line. They were there an hour before opening.

It took them 2 hours in line to vote. This is voter suppression by the Ohio GOP and Ohio Secretary of State Husted. It suppresses the vote in off year elections by making it so onerous to vote, a lot of people only make the effort for the presidential elections.

[harun]

9. Anywhere with lines needs to implement early voting.

[Botany]

13. this is early voting

n/t

[harun]

15. Like 30 day EV

[Botany]

17. In Ohio early voting started 35 days before Election Day.

People have been voting for weeks now.

[Botany]

12. That is 4,000 votes for Hillary

So what is the problem? People are working those lines right now in
order to make sure people stay in line and vote. And if they don't get
to vote today they can vote @ their home precinct tomorrow.

If you are in line when the early voting location close at 2:00PM today
then they will be able to vote and their vote will be counted.

[Marthe48]

14. My husband and I got mail-in ballots

and dropped them off at the County Board of elections after we filled them in an sealed them. It is so easy that I urge everyone to vote this way, especially if you can't wait in line for any length of time.
Until we take the states back from Republican scaredy cats, we will have voter suppression, obstruction and long lines. Just remember, Republicans are not our friends. Not when they hold office,not when they drink the kool-aid, not when they sell out.

[Coyotl]

19. Voting in 2016: Armed Intimidation Squads, Purged Rolls, 868 Fewer Polling Stations

This is Voting in 2016: Armed Intimidation Squads, Purged Rolls, 868 Fewer Polling Stations

On Saturday, the U.S. Supreme Court restored a Republican-supported law in Arizona banning political campaigners from collecting absentee ballots filled out by voters. In New Jersey, a federal judge decided against the Democratic National Committee in a complaint it brought against the Republican National Committee, ruling that the RNC’s poll monitoring and ballot security activities did not violate a legal settlement. But in a ruling hailed by voting rights advocates, a federal judge late Friday ordered county elections boards in North Carolina to immediately restore registrations wrongfully purged from voter rolls. All of this comes as this year’s presidential election is the first in half a century to take place without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act. In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down crucial components in Section 5 of the act in a case called Shelby County v. Holder, when it ruled that states with histories of voting-related racial discrimination no longer had to "pre-clear" changes to their voting laws with the federal government. For more, we’re joined by Ari Berman, author of the recent article, "There Are 868 Fewer Places to Vote in 2016 Because the Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act."

VIEW: democracynow.org