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Every Voter Should Be Allowed to Check Their Ballot
01.23.08
As valued ACLU members and supporters, we would like to inform you that
the ACLU of Ohio filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Cleveland
against Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and the Cuyahoga County
Board of Elections.
The ACLU of Ohio does not endorse one method of voting over
another. Rather, we insist that whatever method is used—whether
it involves a paper or electronic ballot—there must be a method for
voters to check that ballot for errors at the polling place, before it
is cast.
The question is not whether people will be able to vote at the March 4th
primary—they will. What is at stake is whether voters can review their
ballots, before they cast them, to ensure they are not rejected for
errors.
The suit, filed on Thursday, January 17th, aims to stop the county from
adopting a new voting system that does not allow voters
to check their ballots for errors, which ultimately results in more
people's votes not being counted. Furthermore, this voting system has
been proven to result in higher numbers of minority votes not being
counted.
We had hoped to avoid this step. However, a voting system that does not
allow voters to check their ballot risks the rejection of tens of
thousands of votes. It also violates Ohio law.
We would like to explain why the ACLU of Ohio takes this position, and
what is at stake if the Secretary of State is allowed to have her way.
Every Voter Should Be Allowed to Check
Their Ballot
As you may know, in December 2007 Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer
Brunner and the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections voted to replace its
current electronic system with one using paper ballots. Why, with all
the recent questions about the security of electronic voting, does the
ACLU of Ohio oppose the Secretary of State’s alternative?
Electronic voting has a distinct advantage over paper ballots: it alerts
voters if they have made a mistake—such as voting for more than one
candidate in a particular race—before they cast their votes. Voters must
correct these mistakes before their ballot is submitted.
By contrast, paper ballots do not provide a voter with notice of
their errors. If they make an error while filling out a ballot,
the voter is not automatically alerted. This means that his or her vote
runs a substantial risk of being rejected.
We have urged the Secretary of State to include a mechanism at each
polling place, to allow voters to check their ballots. Our pleas
have been ignored.
We Have Proof That No Notice=Lost Votes
In the 2000 presidential election, over 94,000 Ohioans had their
central count paper and punchcard ballots rejected statewide.
In Summit County, ten voting districts experienced rejected ballots at a
rate of between ten and fifteen per cent. By contrast, Franklin County,
which voted electronically (as we do today), the percentage of rejected
ballots countywide was one-half of one per cent, or six times less than
in Summit County.
Based on these circumstances, the ACLU of Ohio went to court,
representing a group of Ohio voters in the case of Stewart v.
Blackwell. This case challenged, under the Fourteenth Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the state’s use
of the same paper ballot systems now proposed by Secretary Brunner and
the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals concluded that voting with paper
ballots, with no mechanism for checking mistakes, violated the equal
protection rights of Ohio voters. This is the very system voters are
being told they must use again, in less than fifty days.
We Adhere to a System of Standards
In a recent interview Secretary Brunner told the Cleveland Plain
Dealer, “I’m doing what I think will work best.” Why is the ACLU of
Ohio not letting the Secretary of State act on her impulses?
Above all, the ACLU of Ohio believes that there are certain basic
standards that a voting system must meet:
- Ballots and voting machines must let the voter check and correct
their work;
- Ballots and voting machines must allow the voter to verify that
his or her vote has been counted;
- Ballots and voting machines must be equally accessible to every
voter, regardless of race, economic status, disability, geography,
or any other factor that might make it more difficult for them to
place their vote.
If these standards are not present, then the potential for discounted
votes rises alarmingly.
Under the plan advocated by Secretary Brunner, none of these standards
is present. Should her plan go forward, the potential for tens of
thousands of rejected votes come Election Day is frighteningly real.
As a supporter of the ACLU, we know you have an appreciation for this
complex situation. Whatever your feelings about electronic voting,
we ask that you give the same thoughtful consideration to this issue—the
right and need to have every vote counted—as you do to so many other
principles defended by the ACLU of Ohio.
We would be happy to answer any questions on this matter, and encourage
you to contact us to clarify why we must preserve the current voting
system, rather than discard it in haste. Please feel free to
contact us with questions or if you would like further information on
this issue, or visit our website at
www.acluohio.org/issues/VotingRights.
Sincerely,
Christine Link
Executive Director
P.S. Again, please understand that the ACLU of Ohio does not
endorse one method of voting over another. However, as Ohio law
and the U.S. Constitution dictate, voters must be allowed to check their
ballot for errors at the polling place, before it is cast. Our goal in
filing this suit is to retain the ability of voters to ensure their
ballot is correct.
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