Barbara Boxer calls for national polling place standards

[babylonsister]

!!!!!

http://politicalinsider.blogs.mydesert.com/2012/12/05/barbara-boxer-calls-for-national-polling-place-standards/

Barbara Boxer calls for national polling place standards
Posted: December 5th, 2012 | Author: Erica Felci


U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer wants to make sure people don’t have to wait all day to cast their vote.

The Rancho Mirage Democrat today introduced the LINE Act, which would require the Attorney General and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission work together on national polling place standards. Those standards, which would need to be issued by January 2014, would include setting a minimum number of voting machines, election workers and other resources to ensure no one waits longer than an hour.

“It is unacceptable that many Americans had to wait in line for five, six or seven hours to cast their ballots,” Boxer said in a statement today. “The LINE Act will help ensure that every American has an equal chance to vote without enduring hours-long delays at their polling places.”

In a news release issued this morning, Boxer’s office noted that voters in key states such as Florida and Ohio were waiting up to seven hours to cast their ballots. Some people were still in line early Wednesday.

Such long lines are less common in California, where an increasing number of people are choosing to vote by mail.

The LINE Act is short for the “Lines Interfere with National Elections Act.”

[DonCoquixote]

1. YES!

Frankly, I would rather have national elections controlled at the national level, as too many states (like my own Florida) have been caught with their hand in the cookie jar trying to corrupt results for power.

[babylonsister]

2. I SO agree!!! nt

[pnwmom]

3. Good idea. And too bad we can't have national laws against gerrymandering. n/t

[silverweb]

4. Thank you, Senator Boxer!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Now let's put the pressure on Congress to support and pass this.

[bluestate10]

5. Should be a standard number of voting machines per precinct. Early voting should be standardized

for national elections, should start on October 20th for all states and continue through election day. States should have to open precincts for early voting, or at least open up more than one voting site in each city or town.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

14. Unless every preccint has the same number of voters, then no. I agree with the idea of standardizing

early voting, details up for debate.

[spanone]

6. take this power away from the local yokels

[freshwest]

12. +1

[yellowcanine]

7. I am sure Republicans will be falling over each other lining up to support this......

[DonRedwood]

8. yay!

[joeunderdog]

9. Goddess. She's just a goddess.

Of all the people talking about making elections safer--on the left and right for crissakes--she's the only pol coming out publicly on this.

That's fucked up.

But then again, so wasn't the fake war in Iraq but she was against that, too.

[polichick]

10. Seems like a no-brainer - but kudos to Boxer!

[AnOhioan]

11. I will do her one better...a national ballot access law

the mishmash of ballot access laws in various states is ludicrous. When the Dems embrace fixing that issue I will applaud.

[Cleita]

13. Thank you senator.

Every penny I have sent you and every vote I have cast your way have been worth gold if you manage to get this done.

[W T F]

15. Do you really think House Rebulicant's aren't going to filibuster it?

[DallasNE]

16. Common Sense Legislation

That alone will kill the bill. Besides, all of the Republicans will shout "States rights" in unison. Also, I would think that the 14th Amendment on equal protection would dictate common registeration and purge procedures as well as recount standards. (Isn't that what Bush v Gore said).

[KT2000]

17. Can't wait to hear with the repubs

will come up with to fight this one off.

[ReRe]

18. Yeah for Barbara Boxer!

How much do you want to bet the House won't pass it thru. And if they do, I guarantee you the red state AGs will figure out some way around it when election time comes. You know, one of those "loopholes."

Hey, it's worth a try. At least someone is trying to do something. What they normally do is give lipservice and that's it. I applaud Barb Boxer!

[NYC Liberal]

19. Things were set up really poorly at my polling place.

They had people line up by election districto? to sign in, which is fine. Problem was that they had 2 poll workers per district period, even though there must have been at least 60-70 people in line for my district while other districts had less than 10. Two poll workers per district no matter the distribution. Totally inefficient.

Is there a reason why they can't do the signing in part while people wait on the line? Wouldn't it be far more efficient to have poll workers go down the line and do that, and if the state uses paper ballots (like NY does, with optical scan), give them their ballot too?

[Left Coast2020]

20. Thats My Senator!!

[gristy]

21. _more_ voting machines?

More machines that produce unauditable vote totals? Lines are bad. More voting machines is not the solution.

[Zorra]

22. Humongous K&R! nt

[PADemD]

23. Additional issues need to be addressed

Voter registration should be made easier, and states should not be able to purge voters in an election year.

Personally, I would like to have mandatory voting, that way no living person could be purged from the list of voters.

[Cha]

24. Thank you Senator Boxer! We Need More Dems(Real) in Congress to Make

these very important issues Happen! Glad PBO mentioned it in his Acceptance Speech, too..

To the LINE ACT! Even though their Voter Suppression FAILED this time.. Let's FIX IT!



How The Voter ID Crusade Backfired On Republicans

"The Republican push to make it more difficult to vote this year — seen by many as a racially tinged attempt to keep Democratic turnout down — could not have failed more spectacularly, a top African American activist told a left-leaning think tank Tuesday."

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/12/voter-id-backfire.php?ref=fpa

Thanks babylonsistah~