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09.12.07
ACLU Urges State and Counties to Adopt Election Reform
Student Poll Workers, Early Voting Among Recommendations
COLUMBUS- Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio called on
state and local leaders to make meaningful changes to voting protocol in
order to facilitate more efficient elections. In letters to Secretary of
State Jennifer Brunner and Board of Election Directors from each of
Ohio’s 88 counties, the ACLU of Ohio pointed to problems with lack of
qualified poll workers, congestion at polls, absentee balloting and
voter confusion over polling places and identification as obstacles to
restore voter confidence in the election process.
The ACLU of Ohio also proposed several reforms to help solve some of the
problems plaguing Ohio’s election system. One improvement championed by
the ACLU is recruiting more student poll workers. In 2006, state
legislators enacted Ohio House Bill 234, which allowed high school
students to leave school for the day in order to serve as poll workers.
A few counties implemented programs to attract young people to poll
worker positions, but the effort was not widespread.
“Students added to the sheer number of available workers while bringing
needed energy and enthusiasm to the process. They could be the secret
weapon for more effective, more accurate and more efficient elections in
2008,” said ACLU of Ohio Legal Director Jeffrey Gamso. “We can stem the
disillusionment of future voters by making them part of the process now.
We urge schools to give release time and consider credit for civic
involvement.”
Another reform the ACLU advocated included improved early voting at
Boards of Election. While early voting was available during the 2006
election, the ACLU of Ohio received several complaints from voters who
were told the machines were not set up or were forced to wait over 40
minutes to cast their ballot. By implementing stricter requirements for
Boards of Election to have early voting protocol in place, it may aid
congestion at polls.
In addition, the ACLU of Ohio urged state officials to provide uniform
identification procedures to ensure all poll workers are aware of what
types of ID are required to vote, and also recommended that officials
correct problems with the absentee balloting process. To ease confusion
over voters possibly voting in the wrong polling location, the ACLU
advocated that Boards of Election have more than one precinct at a
polling location, instruct poll workers not to force voters to vote
provisionally if their correct precinct is only a few feet away and to
educate poll workers that memory cards can be used in any of the voting
machines in the event that one precinct line is long or a machine
malfunction occurs.
“After several elections plagued with problems, state officials have
begun the process of reforming outdated and inefficient voting
standards. However, there is still much work to be done and it will take
the cooperation of elected officials, community leaders, civic
organizations and concerned citizens to make meaningful change,”
concluded Davis.
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Executive Summary - ACLU of Ohio Voting Rights Press Conference
Selected Experiences of Voters in Ohio’s 2006 Election
ACLU of Ohio Voting Rights Litigation
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