Please pardon a little rant about the administrative aspects of our election methods. I just got back from training for volunteer poll workers.
I STRONGLY oppose the California ballot measure that would allow voter registration on election day. I'm not one of those paranoids who think there will be massive voter fraud (with more than 100 million people not voting we have massive voter boycotts, not massive fraud). However, the more procedures and paperwork you introduce at the polling place, the more potential for screw-ups, especially in primary elections where party registration matters. Maybe there will be some fraud, but more likely we'll get more provisional ballots for people with incomplete paper work, people who live on the dividing line between precincts, people who moved and are still registered elsewhere, etc. Also, if poll workers are asked to police against fraud, by having a list of ineligible felons living in the district, we increase the risk of error. I'm speaking from the experience of working at the polls. This doesn't matter in normal elections. However, with close margins, with every dangling chad and questionable registration (or questionable refusal of registration) counting, this is a lot to put on the shoulders of volunteer poll workers. You might think nothing can go wrong, but everybody has a unique story (absentee ballot never received, moved to new house but pretty sure it's within the same precinct, etc.). It's far better to have a deadline (say, 2 weeks, or whatever the bare minimum is for the elections office to do its job), so that on election day most of these questions have been sorted out. Make registration as convenient as possible, and allow as much time as possible, but make sure it's sorted out before the polls open. Mind you, as a volunteer poll worker I will not utter a word for or against this measure on election day. If it passes I'll perform my duties in accordance with it at the next election. However, I will argue against it until the polls open. One other rant: I'm no xenophobe. On immigration matters I'm about as libertarian as you'll find. HOWEVER, I strongly oppose printing ballots in multiple languages. Let me explain why: We have a messy local recall election. There are ambiguities in the ballot instructions, as there are separate spaces on the ballot for the recall, and the question of who should replace the official if she's recalled. People in both camps are upset over the wording of the instructions (although one camp is more upset than the other). When wording is contested, translation into another language only compounds the problem. Election administration is supposed to be routine and uncontroversial. A disputed ballot design becomes twice as contentious. I don't know if anybody has disputed the Spanish translation of our local ballot (the district with the recall has few Spanish speakers), but even if it isn't an issue this time around, the wording issue illustrates the potential problem. (Translating the infamous "butterfly ballot" might be another minefield.) I'm all in favor of community groups offering their own unofficial translated sample ballots. Before I started voting absentee I'd fill out my sample ballot at home and bring it in. So I don't object to groups offering bilingual voter guides and sample ballots. However, I do object to requiring the neutral officials to offer a translation of contentious language. Anyway, feel free to ignore my rant, or rant right back, or whatever. Just some thoughts on practicalities. Alex ---- For more information about this list (subscribe, unsubscribe, FAQ, etc), please see http://www.eskimo.com/~robla/em
