In Focus This Week
Pennsylvania Mulls the Scramble for Electoral Relevancy
Disagreements remain over early primary
By Dan Seligson
electionline.org
With no incumbent president or vice president in the running for the first time in nearly 80 years, the phrase “historically competitive” is being kicked around to describe the 2008 race for the White House.
Voters can’t wait to get in on the action and many of them won’t have to. The latest primary calendar circulated by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) reveals an election season that should yield a clear front runner if not an outright winner before Valentine’s Day.
“Super Tuesday” has moved up a month in most places when compared to the 2004 Democratic primaries. And states that opt not to have earlier primaries risk having their voters lose their voices in who becomes each party’s nominee.
But the process of moving a primary can be complex and expensive. Early February’s “Super Duper Tuesday,” during which heavy hitters like California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Georgia and at least 13 other states will hold primaries or caucuses, will push back preparations in most states into the holiday season – Thanksgiving, that is.
Pennsylvania’s debate over the necessity for an early primary verses the administrative
and financial costs provides one example of the numerous considerations that must go into any decision to move the vote – from costs to weather considerations to early petition drives to snowbird poll workers to the impact an early primary would have on the multitude of other offices up for election further down the ballot.
But the cost of waiting until April, when the primary is currently scheduled, supporters of the revised calendar say, would be that the sixth most populous state in the country will have little or no say in who represents each party in the race for the White House.
Each constituency has its own set of worries. For politicians, there are concerns about nominating petitions; for state partisans, there is the question of national relevance; for election officials, there is the cyclical challenge of finding enough bodies to staff the polls compounded by the potential for mid-winter weather and its affect on transportation of voting equipment, staffing and turnout. Then of course there are the holidays. Nearly every stakeholder facing an early or mid-February primary will have to sacrifice at least some time to preparing for the vote in between carving Thanksgiving turkeys and mailing seasons greetings.
Opinions vary greatly among Pennsylvanians. State Sen. Jeff Piccola, R-Halifax, viewed the early primary as a tremendous and expensive burden on the state for voters who he said were only occasionally engaged.
“These people don’t care about any election but the President,” Piccola said. “They won’t participate for another four years. We want to move the primary – OK, but the rest of the offices shouldn’t be the dog wagged by this presidential payoff.”
Lora Lavin, vice president of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, an organization supportive of the early primary, said citizens in the state are “entitled to meaningful choices when they go to the polls.”
“Pennsylvania voters have not had a substantial influence on the selection of major party presidential candidates since 1976,” Lavin said. “Unfortunately in 2008, Pennsylvania voters may once again not influence the selection of one or both major party candidates for President.”
The concerns among election officials and some party mavens are numerous.
- A blizzard could hit, paralyzing transportation and keeping poll workers and voters at home.
- Elderly poll worker “snow birds” flee many parts of the state for warmer climes in the winter, making the typically difficult process of staffing polling places even more challenging.
- Petitioning to get candidates qualified to be on the ballot for the early primary will need to start just days after the November 2007 election.
- Election officials, candidates and others will need to work over the holidays to complete their pre-election tasks in time for the early February primary.
- According to the Pennsylvania Republican Party, an early primary would conflict with “hunting season…towns practically shut town as generations of families embark on this yearly ritual.”
- All ballots being sent overseas, including those being mailed to military voters, have to be sent no later than 50 days before an election, per state law, pushing back the distribution into the middle of the Christmas holiday week if the state decides on a February 12 primary.
Then there is the cost. Pennsylvania, like California will use a bifurcated system in which the Presidential primary is held in February – adjusting to the early calendar – and regular primaries continue as scheduled for other offices in the state. According to NASS, more than 20 states will do the same, at a still-undetermined cost to state and county coffers.
That will mean two different statewide elections with two sets of candidates, polling places, election-day workforces and so forth. As Secretary of State Pedro Cortes (D) noted in testimony late last month, 9,300 polling places must be open and staffed in the state regardless of whether there are two candidates on the ballot or 200.
Whether the estimated $18 million is worth it to voters is a subject of open debate in the Keystone State.
To some, it’s a beauty contest that challenges election administrators and candidates while forcing an expensive scramble. To others, it is an essential exercise in democracy that has been denied residents of the state for numerous presidential election cycles.
For Cortes, who will have to oversee the administration of the vote no matter when it is held, an early primary is the only way to make sure one of the most significant prizes on the electoral map has meaning while the primaries for both parties are presumably wide open.
Those supporting early primaries, however, have all inadvertently contributed to a national scramble to be first, early, or if neither, relevant.
“In a year when there will be real contests for both parties’ nominations, an earlier primary would provide Pennsylvanians with a voice in the selection of the president commensurate with its population rank among the states,” Cortes said.
Election Reform News This Week
- Although most of the deadlines for HAVA compliance have long since passed, some states received extended deadlines (brought on by federal litigation) to comply with portions of the federal law. One such state, Alabama, reported this week that it will not be able to meet its extended deadline of August 31. Gov. Bob Riley (R) reported to a federal judge that due to problems with the computer systems interface, the statewide voter registration database will not be 100 percent by the Aug. 31 deadline. According to the Press-Register, the report filed with the federal judge stated that, “the special master (Riley) is disappointed to report that the problem …will cause a slight delay … but assures the court that everything is being done, within reason, to accomplish this task at the earliest possible date.”
- A three-judge federal panel this week denied the U.S. Department of Justice’s suit against the city of Boston that would have required the elections department transliterate candidate’s names in certain sections of the city where the ballots are printed in Chinese. According to The Boston Globe, advocates said that Chinese-speaking voters have a right to use ballots that have names printed in Chinese characters. Sec. of State William Galvin argued that the existing agreements with DOJ do not require the transliteration, and the court agreed.
- Pierce County, Wash. is joining a growing list of jurisdictions trying instant-runoff voting. According to the Bellingham Herald, County Auditor Pat McCarthy is ready to implement the change beginning in 2008 — as approved by voters — but there is another measure currently before voters that would postpone the change until 2010. An advocate for the system told the paper that IRV could easily be expanded statewide, at least as a local option. Clallam County voters may decide on the switch this fall, and other jurisdictions, including King County, are studying the system. However, Sec. of State Sam Reed (R), said he is skeptical of a statewide implementation, “It can be awfully complicated to even explain how the vote-sorting would happen. It could get very confusing for voters, and we’re used to having primaries where the top vote-getters in each party move on,” Reed told the paper.
- As counties prepare for the busy, upcoming election season, many are making decisions about polling place location. In Lebanon County, Pa. the county commission recently approved moving a polling place so it would comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In Chatham County, Ga. the local elections board recently dropped plans to consolidate polling places after arguments that consolidating polling places was racially motivated and would prevent blacks from voting. The Georgetown County, S.C. Board of Elections is considering cutting the number of polling places from 34 to four in time for the 2008 primaries. In St. Charles County, Mo., a dearth of elections judges and shifts in population are forcing the county to considering cutting the number of voter precincts by near one-third.
Opinions This Week
National: Regional primary legislation, Voting technology
California: Electoral College, Voting technology, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, Electronic voting
Florida: Voting system security, Diebold voting machines, Voting technology, II, III, Voting machine vendors
Michigan: Absentee voting, II, Voter ID
Mississippi: Election memories, Election problems
Nevada: Paper trails
New Jersey: Voting technology
North Carolina: Early voting sites
Ohio: Cuyahoga County Board of Elections
Texas: Voting technology
Washington: Felon voting, II, Voter fraud, Voter registration
West Virginia: Early voting
Job Postings This Week
All job listings must be received by 12 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday for publication in our Thursday newsletter. Job listings are free but may be edited for length. Whenever possible, include Internet information. Please email job postings to mmoretti@electionline.org
Election Coordinator, Solano County, Calif. Under direction of the Registrar of Voters, this position will be responsible for coordinating the department’s technical resources, including the voter registration system, ballot layout and processing, GIS, election setup and canvass, and public requests for data. The ideal candidate will have experience with DIMSNet; ES&S voting systems, including AutoMark; or with other common California voter registration and ballot processing systems. Familiarity with Crystal Reports, Microsoft Office including Access, and Adobe products is also desirable. Qualifications: Two (2) years of lead or progressively responsible experience preparing, processing tracking and evaluating the activities relating to conducting federal, state, local and special elections; or two (2) years of general office experience that included lead responsibility for a large, routine or small complex work unit with experience in supervision and technical operations and some elections related experience. Experience may have included working in an elections office and completing tasks related to conducting elections and/or participating in a variety of election activities. OR Completion of 60 semester units or 90 quarter units of coursework from an accredited college or university with coursework in Government, Political Science, Business Administration, Business Management or a closely related field. Salary: $52,966 – $64,380. Application: www.solanocounty.com/jobs
Election and Voter Registration Manager – Snohomish County, Everett, Wash. The Election and Voter Registration Division is under the direction of the County Auditor, an independently elected official. The County has currently 671,800 residents and is expected to have 385,000 registered voters by November, 2008. In addition, Snohomish County conducts all the elections for some 110 junior taxing districts ranging from cities, towns and school districts to library and drainage districts. The County offices are located in the city of Everett, with a population of 97,500, located 30 minutes north of Seattle on Puget Sound. The Election and Voter Registration Manager will supervise a full-time staff of 11 plus up to 50 additional staff during elections as required. Qualifications: Extensive management experience with an emphasis in elections and/or voter registration, and an in-depth knowledge of election laws, regulations and rules is preferred. In addition, he/she must have prepared and managed annual budgets, have experience in the management of automated information systems and must have proven ability to meet deadlines, lead an experienced staff, and have served in some capacity in the public eye. Salary: $59,979 – $84,757. Application: please see the Snohomish County Web site (position will be open from August 6-17) or call: Carolyn Ableman at 425-388-3391 prior to posting to get a package faxed to you. Send application and supplemental to: Elections and Voter Registration Division, Snohomish County Auditor’s Department, 3000 Rockefeller Avenue, M/S 505, Everett, Washington, 98201. Telephone: 425-388-3693; or email documents to: betty.scrapper@co.snohomish.wa.us. Deadline: August 17.