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To the editor:
According to the Columbus Dispatch (July 1, 2005), the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice has concluded that the Franklin County Board of Elections "did not discriminate when it allocated voting machines" last November. "Too few voting machines, bad data on how many voters were eligible, a sharp increase in voters from the 2000 election and a lengthy ballot in Columbus caused long lines at some polls."
While conceding that the Board of Elections "allocated fewer voting machines overall to 54 predominantly black precincts than it had in 2000," John Tanner concludes in his cover letter that "blacks did not suffer," and that "predominantly white districts averaged 172 voters per machine versus 159 voters per machine in the predominantly black districts." The reason for this is betrayed in his next sentence: "Turnout was nearly 9 percentage points lower in predominantly black districts." Indeed, voter turnout averaged 60% in Bush precincts and 50% in Kerry precincts.
My own studies (Stealing Votes in Columbus, Favoritism in the Suburbs), posted long ago on www.freepress.org, have demonstrated that too few voting machines depresses voter turnout no matter which political party is predominant in the precinct. The shortage of voting machines was not due to "bad data on how many voters were eligible." The number of registered voters in each precinct was well known in advance. The Board of Elections allocated voting machines based upon its calculation of "active voters," a self-fulfilling prophecy which assumes that voters who were not interested in the recent past, or who were the victims of voter suppression, would not be voting in 2004 either. This discriminatory allocation by the Board of Elections was the direct cause of the lower voter turnout in Democratic precincts, which, in turn, is the reason why the number of ballots cast per machine is relatively equal throughout the City of Columbus. The average was 300 registered voters per machine. The polls were open for 13 hours (780 minutes). Assuming a steady flow of voters, and a 60% turnout, each voter would have only 4 minutes and 20 seconds to wade through the lengthy ballot and cast their votes. Half the precincts had more than 300 registered voters per machine, and some had more than 400. Such precincts suffered accordingly and would be unable to achieve 60% voter turnout due to long lines at the polls.
What the Department of Justice data actually show is that most precincts throughout Columbus experienced voter turnout as high as possible given the overall shortage of machines. The number of ballots cast per machine, being relatively equal, does not tell the story. It is the number of registered voters per machine that conclusively reveals the discriminatory allocation of voting machines, for which Matthew Damschroder and his co-conspirators must be held accountable.
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.
According to the Columbus Dispatch (July 1, 2005), the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice has concluded that the Franklin County Board of Elections "did not discriminate when it allocated voting machines" last November. "Too few voting machines, bad data on how many voters were eligible, a sharp increase in voters from the 2000 election and a lengthy ballot in Columbus caused long lines at some polls."
While conceding that the Board of Elections "allocated fewer voting machines overall to 54 predominantly black precincts than it had in 2000," John Tanner concludes in his cover letter that "blacks did not suffer," and that "predominantly white districts averaged 172 voters per machine versus 159 voters per machine in the predominantly black districts." The reason for this is betrayed in his next sentence: "Turnout was nearly 9 percentage points lower in predominantly black districts." Indeed, voter turnout averaged 60% in Bush precincts and 50% in Kerry precincts.
My own studies (Stealing Votes in Columbus, Favoritism in the Suburbs), posted long ago on www.freepress.org, have demonstrated that too few voting machines depresses voter turnout no matter which political party is predominant in the precinct. The shortage of voting machines was not due to "bad data on how many voters were eligible." The number of registered voters in each precinct was well known in advance. The Board of Elections allocated voting machines based upon its calculation of "active voters," a self-fulfilling prophecy which assumes that voters who were not interested in the recent past, or who were the victims of voter suppression, would not be voting in 2004 either. This discriminatory allocation by the Board of Elections was the direct cause of the lower voter turnout in Democratic precincts, which, in turn, is the reason why the number of ballots cast per machine is relatively equal throughout the City of Columbus. The average was 300 registered voters per machine. The polls were open for 13 hours (780 minutes). Assuming a steady flow of voters, and a 60% turnout, each voter would have only 4 minutes and 20 seconds to wade through the lengthy ballot and cast their votes. Half the precincts had more than 300 registered voters per machine, and some had more than 400. Such precincts suffered accordingly and would be unable to achieve 60% voter turnout due to long lines at the polls.
What the Department of Justice data actually show is that most precincts throughout Columbus experienced voter turnout as high as possible given the overall shortage of machines. The number of ballots cast per machine, being relatively equal, does not tell the story. It is the number of registered voters per machine that conclusively reveals the discriminatory allocation of voting machines, for which Matthew Damschroder and his co-conspirators must be held accountable.
Richard Hayes Phillips, Ph.D.