Equitable Distribution of Election Resources

Numerous reports from the media, voters and election officials revealed that in Ohio, during the November 2004 elections, there was a disparity between the number of voting machines assigned to predominately minority and urban precincts in the state and the number made available in more suburban and exurban precincts, which resulted in longer lines in inner city precincts and undoubtedly disenfranchised voters who were unable or unwilling to wait in line for hours to vote. Activists and commentators have likened excessive lines at the polls to a new “poll tax” that disenfranchises poorer, working-class voters disproportionately.

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(This issue paper was created by the National Network for Election Reform, the largest national coalition dedicated to improving election administration at the federal, state and local level.)