February 12th "Potomac Primaries"

On February 12, 2008, Election Protection received over 1200 calls to the 1-866-OUR-VOTE Election Protection hotline from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.  The Lawyers’ Committee recruited over 100 legal volunteers who answered phone lines, monitored polling sites, and were stationed at the offices of county election officials.  Election Protection worked overtime on the 12th when a Maryland judge extended polling hours in that state due to an ice storm. 

With high voter turnout throughout the region - the highest for a presidential primary in 20 years in the District of Columbia, a 130% increase from 2004 in the Virginia Democratic Primary, and the highest turnout in a Maryland presidential primary in 16 years - many election officials were overwhelmed and under-prepared for the large crowds. Across the region a large number of voters were unable to exercise their fundamental right because the polling places opened late, poll workers were uninformed about the rules, machines malfunctioned, and polling places ran out of ballots.  Voter incidents reported to the hotline included:

Lawyers' Committee Executive Director Barbara Arnwine answering phones

Maryland

  • Election Protection received numerous reports of machine problems and electronic poll book failures across Maryland causing polling places to open late, long lines, and voters leaving without being able to vote.  In addition, several precincts poll workers failed to provide emergency paper ballots when machines broke down. 
    • In Montgomery and Prince George’s County Election Protection volunteers at the election offices were able to work with county officials to rectify many of these problems and prevent further voters from being turned away.
  • Callers reported they waited in line for up to an hour at Saint Mary’s of the Assumption School before finding out their polling place had been changed.
  • Poll workers at Tangelwood Elementary School in Prince George’s County kicked out voters who weren’t in line by 8pm and locked the doors, despite a court order keeping the polling places open until 9:30pm.
    • Election Protection volunteers worked with county election officials who ordered the polling places back open, allowing several voters, who would have otherwise been turned away, to vote.
  • The hotline received several calls from voters who registered with a party affiliation at the DMV but ended up registered as Independents and unable to vote in the primaries in MD or not registered at all.

District of Columbia

  • Call center volunteers helped several voters with registration and polling place questions.
  • The majority of the calls from D.C. were to report that polling places ran out of paper ballots due to high turnout. 
    • Poll workers at one precinct were giving out Republican and Statehood Green Party ballots to registered Democrats because they had run out of Democratic ballots
    • The shortage of paper ballots caused long lines in many polling places that only had one electronic voting machine.
    • One caller reported voters were voting on the machine for disabled voters due to a lack of resources.
    • Election Protection leadership stayed in close contact with the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics late in the day, relaying reports of paper ballot shortages as they were coming in.

Virginia

  • Election Protection received reports of long lines throughout the state of Virginia
  • In Spotsylvania County a caller reported seeing a scarecrow hanging from a tree - as though it had been lynched - near her polling place.
  • A caller in Arlington County reported that a county sheriff’s officer was pulling people over in front of the polling place.
    • An Election Protection volunteer notified the county board of elections who contacted the sheriff’s office to rectify the situation.
  • Many callers reported that polling places in Richmond and Chesterfield County were running out of ballots.  In several locations voters were forced to leave without casting a ballot.
  • Poll workers were mistakenly requiring voters to show photo ID before casting a ballot.
    • Several callers reports signs in front of polling places saying that voters needed a driver’s license and voter registration card, and that if they did not have a driver’s license they would have to complete an affidavit
  • Call center volunteers also helped voters, who had received incorrect information about their precinct from the Fairfax County voter guide, locate their polling place.

News

Lawyers Coalition Works To Ensure Voters’ Rights, The BLT (February 11, 2008)

Primary voters brave bad weather to cast ballots, CNN (February 12, 2008)

High voter turnout, few glitches in Prince George’s, Business Gazette (February 12, 2008)

Strong Student Turnout Pushes Obama To A Sweeping Victory, CBS News (February 13, 2008)