Letter to the Editor of the Bucks County Courier Times

October 22, 2008

Board’s inaction could lead to long Election Day lines

At the last Board of Elections meeting, the major issue was the vote to relocate the Creekside polling place to St. Mary’s Wellness Center, following charges of voter disenfranchisement due to its prior change to Polanka Hall.

More important to all voters was the discussion that followed the vote about the possible disenfranchisement of voters at many polling places throughout Bucks County on Election Day due to long wait times on lines. Some voters, because of job and family responsibilities or health reasons, cannot wait on a long line, and will need to leave the line, losing their chance to vote. This should not happen in a democracy.

Long wait times occur if the Board of Elections does not rent enough machines to handle the expected 80 percent turnout of the more than 441,000 voters now on the rolls in contrast to 410,000 in 2006. Each Danaher voting machine used here, according to its certification report, can reasonably accommodate 350 voters because there are only 780 minutes of voting time on Election Day, which means that each voter must vote in 2.2 minutes. However, many of the machines in the large polling places will be expected to handle more than 600 voters, possibly creating long lines stretching into the night.

Election officials also need to speed up the process used inside some polls. First of all, the unnecessary step of having voters stop to have their names checked in an alphabetized list of voters book needs to be eliminated. The voters should go directly to the signature books and sign in. Secondly, these signature books need to be split into as many sections as there are machines.

Thirdly, each machine needs its own operator. Presently some machine operators are expected to monitor two machines, which will be held up by new voters needing instruction. The county should advertise and hire additional poll workers for the larger polls. Concerned citizens should call the Board of Elections and sign up to work on election. Full-day workers are paid $95 a day; half day, $47.50.

Bucks County voters need to let the county commissioners know that voters want them to rent enough machines and establish efficient polling place practices so that all voters are able to cast their votes in November.

Madeline Rawley

Doylestown

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