Tuesday was also a victory of sorts for Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Bill Gale, whose credibility had been on the line after reducing the county’s polling places from 208 to 64. There were anecdotes about problems with machines and poll workers, but the election came off with a 49 percent turnout in the county — in the ballpark with the 2002 and 1998 nonpresidential elections. Maybe Gale knew what he was doing after all — though even the person who hired him, Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, had said Gale’s cutbacks “went deeper” than he would have recommended. Tuesday’s experience bodes well for the spring municipal and school board elections. And the nonpartisan Sedgwick County Voter Coalition plans to review the election and make recommendations, as necessary. But what about 2008? If county turnout is anything like 2004’s 74 percent of registered voters, the disaster might still be coming.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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21 Comments
Bill Gale was not available on Tuesday when problems came up. You could not get through to his office because all the lines were busy. He has made the office a nightmare.
He still had the machines setup so that people could watch you vote. There were people standing behind the machines watching while people cast their votes. You even had people going up to folks while they were voting to talk to them (the people did not ask for help).
Bill Gale has not worried about the privacy of voting. He had no control over the people he put in charge of the voting places. He had supervisors that did not know the rules. Laws were broken by candidates like Raj Goyle (an attorney) because he and his people were campaigning in and on the grounds of a polling place (no it was not the place he voted at). That action is a class “C” misdemeanor. You would think an attorney would know the law. You had poll watchers that were brought in from out of town that harassed the workers and voters. They are not allowed to participate in the process they are only to observe. They are not to even talk to anyone.
I hope that someone presses charges on Raj Goyle and anyone else that broke the law on Tuesday. We do not need to have these kinds of tactics here in Kansas.
Bill Gale needs to train the poll workers better and make sure that they understand the laws.
I have talked to a Wichita lawyer who was present at the polling site where it is alleged that Goyle did something wrong. The lawyer assures me that Goyle did absolutely nothing wrong. You had better watch out what kind of whining drivel you post under the pretense of fact about newly elected (by a landslide) State Rep. Raj Goyle.
As for poll workers, what is really going on here is extreme frustration and disappointment by the Republicans that the Democratic Party had legally credentialed poll workers on duty, and that the Chief Judges were requiring the names and addresses of voters to be audibly announced as required by law. Where were the poll workers for the Republican Party? Instead of traveling from polling site to polling site to disrupt, disturb and intimidate legal poll workers and County election board workers, the Republicans should have been ready to poll watch as well. But because their Party has been blown to smithereens by their own in-fighting and distrust, all they could think to do is try to pull another stunt like they did in Florida in 2000 when they showed up a vote-counting centers and disrupted the election process through intimidation - these are the tactics of desparate, immoral people.
You are correct, Rhonda, about 2008. At Central Christian Church, where 10 machines were available to serve 9 consolidated precincts (according to the election worker with whom I spoke), the poll workers could not get a break to use the restroom without having to leave a line of voters waiting to be checked-in until return of the poll worker. Perhaps if the polling sites had been larger, and more machines available, the 67 sites would have been adequate. Of course, some polling sites did not experience these overcrowding and overbusy conditions. But it is clear that we will need more and larger polling sites in 2008, and many more machines and board workers.Sadly, we may need police officers on duty as well.
I don’t like the result..so I am going to continue to whine about someone STEALING an election.
Seemed to be a very popular and “cool” thing to do after the presidential election..so I can do it now..for years.
I thought the new machines were very good and very easy. I voted at the old courthouse prior to election day. (Only way to go in my opinion - no lines)
I think if the people (Election Commissioner) that coordinate these election advertise more that voting is available before the appointed election day, there would be much less problems.
For the first time in my life I voted by mail in ballot. I bet that had alot more to do with the smooth election, than cutting the number of polling places. I wonder how many others voted early, preventing gridlock.
The new polling place for the northeast - Kechi - was a disaster. Only two of the three machines were working. People were stacked up in a ludicrous musical chairs queue. People weren’t told they could use paper ballots until the line got so long they ran out of chairs and people were standing. The gals giving instructions on the new machines were too busy chatting with friends to be properly attentive to disgrunted voters. People would come in - see the line - and leave. People waited an hour to spend three minutes voting. All this at 2:30 in the afternoon. What a fiasco! I can’t imagine what 5:30 looked like.
I think advance voting is the way to go. As far as stealing the election goes…why is it that the exit polls were dead on the money this time around? Whereas last time, they were off by such a far margin.
And then there is the story out of Florida (again) where the machines didn’t show the candidates, but vote workers were told to inform voters that they had to look elsewhere for the names. So now they have a major undercount of that race, and the republicans say “well they just refused to vote”….what kind of crap excuse is that.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/15977134.htm
PM, I agree. Early voting may be what brings people back to the polls. Too often, if someone isn’t motivated enough, they won’t vote because of time restrictions. Some won’t get up earlier, some are too tired after work on election day. With early voting, which included at least one Saturday, more are able and more willing to vote.
And the machines are cool!
I was a Democratic poll watcher at Midway Baptist Church on South Broadway. All in all I thought it went reasonably well. The head election judge did a pretty good job of keeping things moving and did her best to give all the workers the needed breaks for lunch etc …. We willingly followed the instructions she gave us and we in turn helped her when we could (I.E. pointing out inappropriate attire advocating a specific party (Dems)in a joking way). It was that spirit of cooperation that made it run well.
The only fly in the proverbial oat meal was when a young republican poll watcher demanded (almost stomping his feet like a 2 year old) to see my credentials without identifying himself — he threatened angrily to call the election office if I didn’t — I asked for his ID several times and was refused … realizing it wasn’t worth the effort or potential disruption to the process I showed him my credential, and he grabbed it from my hand and stomped away …. now coming from Chicago I know a little bit about dirty politics — but what offended me the most was the arrogance and disrespect from a snot nose kid — I’m a boomer and Viet Vet — and I deserve more respect from the republicans and an apology from them — but I’m also smart enough to know that republicans don’t admit thier mistakes nor apologize for them … another reason they lost –
oh BTW as I’ve stated before I’m an independent, worked for the Dems because I campaigned for McGinn and wanted to be involved in some way — and they asked ….
ken,
Thanks for the report. Your efforts are much appreciated.
Good points above - now some suggestions for next time:
Open up MANY sites two weeks prior to the election. Perhaps run the church sites weekdays and then rotate to schools weekends. PUSH HARD for advance voting. Target - 50% voting before Tuesday. This way we wouldn’t need more machines.
Another possibility. Since we now have the capability to bring up any ballot on the touchscreen allow voting in precincts other than one’s own. In particular, let me vote where I work instead of only where I live.
“I hope that someone presses charges on Raj Goyle and anyone else that broke the law on Tuesday.”
Go right ahead sts. Put your money where your mouth is. IF you have a case that is …
Sounds to me more like a poor loser’s sour grapes!
One issue remaining on the addition of polling places (be they for advance voting or for election day proper) is the ability to staff the sites. IIRC, in the 2004 general election, there was a problem in attracting sufficient poll workers to fully staff the sites. I don’t think this issue has disappeared. Further food for thought: would opening additional sites for advance voting for a longer period add to the overall cost of the election? To me, if it does, it is money well spent; but for some, it will be unneeded governmental expenditures leading (in their mind) to higher taxes.Hmmm, I agree with allowing a properly registered voter to vote at any convenient polling place and not restricting him/her to the one polling place serving the precinct in which the voter lives (at least for general elections; as precinct committeemen and women are elected in the primaries, I suspect the need to keep the primaries ‘local’, otherwise the real potential for confusion over the proper ballot to appear on the electronic machine).Has anyone had a chance or the interest to look at how Oregon’s vote by mail program has worked? It is my understanding that in Oregon, all voting is done by mail. Am I correct?
VT - I think longer opening will be cheaper than more sites. After all, I can use one machine for 10 days and get 10 times as many votes recorded.
You are probably right about primaries; however since so few vote in them it is less important. Eevn that, however, might be dispersable. When I advance voted they initaited it with my precinct number.
Voting on weekends should be studied. More people would vote? More / smarter poll workers would be available? And more public / government facilites would be available?
The availability of early voting should be shouted from the rooftops. Okay, at least it should be mentioned more. I wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t seen it mentioned here. Luckily, my oldest reads the paper both online and print (Sunday) and told me where to check online for locations and times when we decided to vote early.
How about some signs or even billboards with info about when and how to check locations and dates/times? Not everyone watches local TV stations. I assume it was mentioned on local news. What about short TV ads (expensive, I know)? Did the radio stations deliver the message?
Any other ideas? Flyers?
Sometimes people have to be hit over the head to know and remember something.
Thanks for the update on Raj, Kelly.
I was sure that Raj was too ethical and knowledgeable to campaign illegally.
What you write makes sense.
I also worked as a Democratic poll watcher. In fact, I moved between several sites to provide breaks for poll watchers who were stationed at a particular poll.
We only had one problem at the polls that I was checking. The chief poll judge (this is at the convent on Lincoln) was very antagonistic to our poll watchers from the time they showed up. In fact, we had to call in Bill Gale and our attorneys by 6:30 to get privacy screens for those voting a paper ballot. She was not happy when she was ordered by the election office to put up the privacy screens.
Much later (about 2:00) some kid showed up and began telling our poll workers they were breaking the law and demanding that the poll judge throw them out. Things had been running well to that point and again it took lawyers coming in to get him to move on (and quit walking through the poll video tapeing people voting). Ultimately he left and the poll watchers were allowed to continue what they had been lawfully doing all day.
It’s a shame that lawyers have to come in to protect the rights of voters because some young Republican punks we upset that they didn’t have their own poll watchers.
I voted by paper and will continue to do so
The Metroplex sample ballots had all repuke candidates circled.
That is illegal and cheating
Goyle did NOTHING WRONG