Judge Refuses Last-Minute Election Changes in Va.

Judge Refuses Last-Minute Election Changes in Va.

By Anita Kumar
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 3, 2008; 5:57 PM

RICHMOND, Nov. 3 -- Hours before the polls open, a federal judge Monday refused to order any last-minute changes to Virginia's voting procedures in response to allegations by the NAACP that the state is not prepared to handle the predicted historic voter turnout in Tuesday's election.

But U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams will consider Tuesday a separate request by Republican presidential nominee John McCain to allow overseas absentee ballots an extra 10 days to arrive in Virginia.

State officials said late Monday afternoon that they were relieved that Williams did not order extended polling hours, more paper ballots or the moving of equipment among precincts as the NAACP had requested.

"We need to go back to work," said Jean Cunningham, chairwoman of the State Board of Elections as she hurriedly left the courthouse for the elections office in downtown Richmond.

The lawsuit filed last week claims that the state is violating the U.S. and state constitutions by not allocating enough voting machines, poll workers and polling places, particularly in precincts with large minority populations, which could result in long lines and lost votes.

"We are urging all voters to stand in line," NAACP President Ben Jealous said. "Americans have waited 230 years for this -- a multi-gender, multi-generational, multi-racial [campaign]. This is a big day. Stay in line."

The NAACP and voter protection groups said they will be watching as the voters go to polls Tuesday, and are prepared to go back to court and ask Williams to make changes if they see problems.

Kumiki Gibson, a lawyer for the NAACP and other groups, told the judge that the state has known about the problems for more than a month but did not do anything about.

"We virtually begged the [state] to do something but they did not," she said. "They did nothing. That is their job."

Williams listened to arguments from the NAACP's attorney but refused to hear expert testimony before quickly denying the group's motion at the end of a 30-minute hearing. He did order the State Board of Elections to publicize that disabled voters or those older than 65 could vote in line immediately through curbside voting and that anyone who is standing in line at 7 p.m., when the polls close, can still vote.

"I hope this will reduce confusion," he said.

Election officials anticipate record turnout Tuesday when the country will elect either the nation's first black president or first female vice president. They estimate as many as 20 percent of voters in the region will likely vote by absentee ballot.

More than 5 million Virginians are registered to vote, including 500,000 people who have been added to the rolls since the 2004 presidential election.

The State Board of Elections maintains that all localities are complying with the minimum number of voting machines and voting booths in each precinct as required by state code -- one machine for every 750 registered voters for direct electronic voting systems and one voting booth for every 425 registered voters for optical scan systems.

Since 2004, the number of voting machines, polling places and workers has increased.

The number of voting machines has increased from about 5,989 in 2004 to about 10,600 in 2008. The number of workers has increased from 19,000 to 30,000 in the last four years. The number of polling places has increased from 2,294 to 2,349, and others were upgraded or enlarged.

"We are ready for tomorrow. This is the day we have worked so hard," said Nancy Rodrigues, secretary of the State Board of Elections. "Democracy is messy. Therefore we have to be prepared for public scrutiny any time and any place. That's certainly in their right to question but I think we're prepared."

The Advancement Project, a national voter protection group, filed the lawsuit last Monday in Richmond and Norfolk on the NAACP's behalf. "We believe our prediction is right," said Judith Browne-Dianis, co-director of the Advancement Project. "This case is not dead. It is not over. It will be alive after Election Day."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/03/AR2008110301184.html