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To: deibutfeif who wrote (116322)	11/8/2000 10:38:00 PM
From: Scumbria	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Deibutfeif, It seems like keeping the poles open is actually a tactic to allow an extra special "get out the vote" effort even after normal pole closing time. I'm not sure how the Polish people got involved in this discussion, but I think that they should make an effort to keep the polls open, even if it impacts prime time network broadcasting. Scumbria

To: deibutfeif who wrote (116322)	11/9/2000 12:14:21 AM
From: Amy J	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Hi Deibutfeif, RE: "While I can see such a tactic being used to irritate voters, I don't really see how it can be used to swing the vote." ------------ It can be used to swing votes as follows: a) A geographical area that has a reputation for being either extremely conservative or extremely liberal is at potential risk for this tactic. (Which means it is important for citizens of all Parties to remove this potential tactic. It can happen to either Party) b) Members of some type of committee have the power to block the opening of additional polls. (I believe Federal law mandates a certain % of polling stations per capita, but the control of opening more than that is somehow up to the State control, which could leave room for manipulation). c) If additional polling stations are blocked from opening up in a particular area that is heavily conservative (or heavily liberal), then voters can get blocked. d) They get blocked in several ways: - a certain % of people need to get back to work and the law only gives a worker 2 hours to get back - a certain % of people (regardless of the law) may not be able to vote if a line is longer than an hour long due to their personal circumstances, e.g. one example is a parent needing to get to a day care center before it closes and before their child is left out on the streets. (Let's assume this number is an equivalent number of people regardless of their Party. However, if a particular area is known to be extremely conservative or extremely liberal, then a pro-rated % of extremely conservative or extremely liberal voters get shut out) - I do not know what the law states about lines that have formed (and how one can identify a line in a crowded city), however, in my friend's case, people were shut out. This is either due to some type of legal limit on the length of lines (could it be 100 feet?) or probably more likely it is due the nature of defining a line when you are in a very crowded city (how can a person identify a crowd that wants to vote as a line). I think the solution is: beef up the Federal laws by doing the following: - if local pre-polls show an increased % of the population intends to vote, then allow more polls to be opened than they currently do. A person's request for more polls due to a pre-poll sample, should not be turned down - especially when it has proven to be insufficient. By the way, one of the 3 polling districts in question in the media, is exactly the same area my friend had problems with when operating the polls several years ago. So, I am not really surprised this area keeps experiencing problems. I believe something at the Federal level will need to be done for things to improve, otherwise it will be business as usual. My friend informed the head of the campaign back then, but these people simply move on when an election is lost and don't seem to bother to follow it up and fix it. And they should fix it, because it can happen to any (i.e. either) Party, again and again. - if a local poll has a line that's longer than 45 minutes, allow the voters to come back the next day (get their names and signatures, so only those that show up may come back). Regards, Amy J