Voter Issues Line the Road to the Election
As McCain and Obama Close In on the Election, Voter Issues Rampant
From Prison to the Polling Place
States continue to struggle with when, how or even whether to let felons vote, an issue of increasing importance this year as political activists -- mostly Democrats -- push for putting more ex-cons on the rolls.
Every state except Maine and Vermont limits felon voting: 35 prevent parolees from casting a ballot, 30 bar people on probation, nine require a waiting period and two -- Kentucky and Virginia -- have almost complete prohibitions.
In Florida, more than 30,000 felons barred under state law from voting remain registered for the Nov. 4 election, according to a story Sunday in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
In other states, though, the felons are getting a raw deal: Alabama disqualifies citizens convicted of crimes of "moral turpitude." But in a list of those crimes, the governor's office includes shoplifting, animal cruelty and hundreds of other offenses that court officials say were never intended to count. Lawsuits challenging state felon-voting laws are now playing out in Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona and Tennessee.
Discrimination by Voting Machine?
A report issued Thursday finds that predominantly black precincts in Virginia, Ohio, Missouri and other battleground states have far fewer voting machines per registered voter than do nearby white precincts, a situation that voting-rights advocates fear will drive down the minority vote -- and skew the election's outcome.
In Norfolk, Va., for example, precinct 310, which is 93 percent black, has only one machine for every 451 voters, while precinct 208, which is 94 percent white, has a machine for every 231 voters, according to the Advancement Project, a voting rights group in D.C. More generally, the report says significant shortages of poll workers and other voting resources make those states unprepared for an expected increase in turnout this election.
Making a List, Checking It Twice
Purging state registration rolls is a controversial and inexact process that critics say too often strips eligible voters of their rights. On Thursday, The New York Times reported that at least six swing states had illegally dropped tens of thousands of voters from the books by engaging in essentially two forbidden practices: striking names within 90 days before the election and using Social Security data to check voters' identities.
Social Security information is a lot less accurate than the state data that officials are required to use first, and the 90-day rule keeps anyone from being stricken unless they are dead, unfit to vote or living in another state.
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