ACLU of FL Urges Elections Supervisor to Ease Long Lines During Peak Voting Hours

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MIAMI — Saying that the potential for long lines in the Broward county voting district may discourage voters from casting their ballots, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida today sent a letter asking the county elections supervisor to take steps to alleviate long lines in certain voting precincts.

“In light of the length of the ballot in Broward County, the anticipated large voter turnout, and the small number of voting machines purchased by the county, we are concerned that long lines may discourage or prevent eligible voters from casting a ballot,” the ACLU said in a letter sent to Miriam Oliphant, the Broward County Supervisor of Elections.

ACLU officials said they are concerned that with the highest number of registered voters in Florida and 2,000 fewer touch-screen voting machines than in neighboring Miami-Dade County, Broward is very likely to encounter problems related to malfunctioning machines and long voter lines, especially between 5 and 7 p.m., which are peak voting hours.

ACLU officials urged Oliphant to implement the following steps to alleviate potential gridlock at the polls later today:

• Make arrangements to deliver some of the approximately 500 “backup” voting machines to precincts experiencing extraordinarily long lines;
• Authorize precinct clerks to utilize backup or substitute paper ballots in precincts with long lines;
• Use existing paper ballots – already on hand for provisional voting – as substitute ballots and arrange for the delivery of secure ballot boxes to those precincts authorized to distribute backup ballots;
• Follow appropriate state law and county rules to insure that all voters in line at 7 p.m. are afforded an opportunity to vote, even if that may require keeping polling places open well after 7 p.m.

The ACLU of Florida has launched a toll-free complaint hotline to collect information regarding statewide voting problems on Election Day. More than 35 complaints have been documented today in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties ranging from problems with voter intimidation and access to the polls, to wrongful purging of voters from registration lists. Complaints also have been received from voters who were unable to vote for the gubernatorial candidate of their choice because of equipment malfunction.

In one instance, voter registration cards and the Broward County web site, stated that the polling station for one precinct is located in the auditorium of a local high school. But numerous voters who went to the school to vote have reported that there is no polling place operating at that location. The ACLU today also sent a letter to Oliphant requesting immediate action to correct that error.

The full text of both letters to Oliphant follow:

November 5, 2002

Via Facsimile

Miriam Oliphant, Supervisor of Elections
Joseph Cotter, Deputy Supervisor
Broward County Supervisor of Elections
Broward Governmental Center
115 S. Andrews Avenue, Room 102
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Re: Potential Long Lines at Certain Precincts

Dear Ms. Oliphant and Mr. Cotter,

We are writing on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida regarding concerns about the potential for long lines at the polling places. In light of the length of the ballot in Broward County, the anticipated large voter turn out, the small number of voting machines purchased by the County in relation to the number of registered voters, and the inevitable fact that some machines may malfunction, we anticipate that there may be extraordinarily long lines at some Broward County precincts – particularly in the post-working hours rush from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. We are concerned that the lines may be so long as to discourage or prevent eligible voters from casting a ballot.

We write to request that you take this opportunity to plan in advance to take two steps to alleviate long lines in certain precincts, should such lines develop, and thereby insure that every eligible voter who wishes to cast a ballot will have the opportunity to do so. First, we understand that there are between 250 and 550 “backup” voting machines which were designed to replace malfunctioning machines but some of which could be delivered to precincts experiencing extraordinarily long lines, and we request that you make arrangements to do so. Second, we request that you authorize precinct clerks to utilize backup or substitute paper ballots in precincts with extraordinarily long lines. While we do not take issue with the Division of Elections’ October 31, 2002 interpretation of the provisional ballot statute to prohibit use of paper provisional ballots as provisional ballots in such a crisis, absolutely nothing prohibits the Supervisor of Elections from exercising her discretion to use the existing paper ballots which are on hand as regular backup or substitute ballots. We recognize that this may require your office arranging for delivery of secure ballot boxes to those precincts in which use of paper backup or substitute ballots is authorized, and therefore urge you to make such arrangements in advance.

Finally, because we anticipate the longest lines to occur near the 7:00 p.m. poll-closing time, we request that you make every effort to insure that the Broward Poll Manual, state law, and the Settlement Agreement in NAACP v. Smith are followed so that all voters in line at 7:00 p.m. are afforded an opportunity to vote, even if that may require polling places to be open well after 7:00 p.m.

Thank you for your consideration of these requests and attention to these concerns. We share your commitment to affording all eligible voters an adequate opportunity to cast a ballot, and would be happy to discuss these issues further with you or your legal representative(s) should you believe it useful.

Very truly yours,

JoNel Newman, Esq.
Special ACLU Counsel

Howard Simon
Executive Director

LETTER REGARDING PRECINCT 50V IN HOLLYWOOD

November 5, 2002

Via Facsimile

Miriam Oliphant, Supervisor of Elections
Broward County Supervisor of Elections
Joseph Cotter, Deputy Supervisor of Elections
Broward Governmental Center
115 S. Andrews Avenue, Room 102
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

Re: Precinct Number 50V

Dear Ms. Oliphant and Mr. Cotter,

I write to alert you to the fact that voters have brought an urgent problem with respect to Precinct 50V to our attention, and to request that your office take immediate action to ensure that voters who are assigned to Precinct 50V have an opportunity to vote. This Precinct is listed on voter registration cards and your web site as having the polling place of McArthur High School Auditorium, 6501 Hollywood Blvd. Your web site directs voters to the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and 65th Avenue. The ACLU of Florida received calls that numerous voters had reported to this address to vote and that there was no polling place operating at that address. None of the nearby school personnel whom these voters asked about a polling place were aware of any place the voters could vote. The voters also reported that they called your office to ask about the problem and were unable to get through.

This office tried repeatedly to reach your office about this problem as well, and was put on hold for a lengthy period after which we were disconnected. Only after we called the School Administration office of McArthur High School were we able to discover what had happened. The School Administration stated that the polling place was in the Library, in a different street block and at a different address. We were told that the polling place, in the Library, is at the corner of 64th Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard.

We request that you station someone to direct voters to the moved polling place and that signs be posted directing voters to the new precinct as soon as possible. Thank you for your prompt attention to this urgent concern.

Very truly yours,

JoNel Newman, Esq.
Special ACLU Counsel