The Advancement Project of the NAACP sued the Virginia State Board of Elections, Gov. Tim Kaine and the electoral boards and general registrars of Richmond, Norfolk and Virginia Beach Monday for inadequate preparation for the large voter turnout expected at polls next week.
According to the complaint submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, despite “record registration numbers, and the Commonwealth’s acknowledgement of the increased turnout on November 4th, the Commonwealth and its jurisdictions are inadequately prepared.”
This same complaint also states, “the allocation of polling place resources is plainly irrational, non-uniform and likely discriminatory.”
This lawsuit against Virginia governmental institutions springs from Advancement Project analyses that show “all localities are under-resourced, and in the three localities of the lawsuit, under-allocation had a disparate effect in precincts with high percents of voters of color,” Advancement Project staff attorney Francisco Maldonado-Ramírez said.
State Board of Elections Chair Jean Cunningham contradicted the claim of any racial discrimination in polling place resource allocation, saying that if long lines occur, they will be long “for all Virginians, not just minorities.”
Cunningham added that, Virginia will have far more poll workers than ever before for the upcoming election and twice the amount of equipment as in 2004.
Susan Pollard, director of communications for the State Board of Elections agreed, noting the Board has been preparing for the influx of voters. This year, the board “launched a campaign called ‘Ensure the vote’ to get 10,000 new officers of election and alternates,” Pollard said. “This year 30,000 people are serving as officers of election.”
As a result, she noted, the commonwealth has 10,000 more election officers now than in 2004.
In correlation with the increase in the number of election workers, there has been a 77-percent increase in polling machines statewide versus what was available in the 2004 election, Pollard said. The Board allocates polling machines according to Virginia law, which “requires one machine per 750 registered voters and one privacy booth for every 425 registered voters.” Pollard explained. “Any additional machines are determined by locality.”
The Advancement Project does not dispute that each Virginia locality upholds these standards but instead claims that this minimum requirement is an unreasonable ratio, Maldonado-Ramírez explained.
“A touch-screen voting machine can’t handle 750 people in a day — not even close,” Maldonado-Ramirez said. “A touch screen can’t be expected to handle more than a few hundred people in a day. They’re just not fast enough [with the] time it takes people to vote, check in, and show ID.” He added that the current standard is a “recipe for bottlenecks.”
While the NAACP believes that areas such as Richmond, Norfolk and Virginia Beach are not prepared for the mass voter turnout expected Nov. 4, Charlottesville General Registrar Sheri Iachetta does not foresee major problems for city residents on Election Day.
“We have extra machines, brand new electronic pollbooks and different parking arrangements,” Iachetta said, noting that the city’s decision to double the number of available voting machines and to purchase a new voting system stems from the reality that many citizens have registered to vote for the first time.
The office is also working to encourage people to carpool or walk to the polls, she noted. The city also has established Nov. 4 as a fare-free transit bus day.
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