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Voters wait in line to vote at a polling place on Nov. 6, 2018 in Kirkwood, Missouri. Voters across the country are casting ballots in a midterm election that couuld change the balance of both the U.S. House and Senate. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
With Broken Machines and Hours-Long Waits Stopping Voters From Casting Ballots, Majority Says, "Make Election Day a Federal Holiday"
"Is voting meant to be an obstacle course?"
Nov 05, 2018
A poll released as Americans cast their ballots in the midterm elections on Tuesday shows that more than half of the country believes Election Day should be made a national holiday--a likely partial solution to a number of problems that plague the voting system.
Fifty-four percent of respondents to the survey, taken by Hill.TV and HarrisX, say workers should be given the day off on Election Day, allowing them far more time to vote, saving them from having to leave their polling places without voting due to long lines and issues with voting machines, and potentially changing the United States' generally low election turnout for the better.
On social media, a number of politicians and political observers voiced support for the idea.
\u201cNew York is a state *without* early voting, mail-in ballots, or no-excuse absentee.\n\nYou can only cast a ballot from 6am-9pm. Election Day isn\u2019t a holiday.\n\nWhen pollsites break down, it has enormous consequences for election turnout.\n\nEnough. We need voting reform in New York.\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1541519199
\u201cEvery Election Day we are reminded of the weirdness of Columbus Day being a federal holiday instead\u201d— Ben Rhodes (@Ben Rhodes) 1541536896
\u201cWhy isn't Election Day a federal holiday?\u201d— Jennifer Bendery (@Jennifer Bendery) 1541533014
\u201cThere is a bill in Congress to do this. It has 28 Democratic sponsors in the House. No Republicans. https://t.co/HR0v9YLNSZ\u201d— Jennifer Bendery (@Jennifer Bendery) 1541533014
At least 12 states were reporting broken or faulty voting machines on Tuesday, including New York, Georgia, and Arizona. As a result, voters in some states were given provisional ballots--which are not always counted--while others were forced to leave polling places without voting.
Reports on social media showed that voters in New York, Florida, Indiana, and Pennsylvania were among those who had to leave due to voting machine issues.
\u201c@TB_Times League of Women's rep Karen Coal reports long lines at St. Pete's Lake Vista until about 9:30. Some would-be voters had to leave for work.#ElectionDay\u201d— Waveney Ann Moore (@Waveney Ann Moore) 1541517951
\u201cClerk: \u201cBe patient with us, and please come back.\u201d - message to voters who have had to leave polls after waiting too long.\u201d— Ryan Thedwall (@Ryan Thedwall) 1541526911
\u201cPenn Hills Polling Problem: Rover couldn\u2019t open the machines, forcing polling precinct along Universal to open late. I\u2019m talking with voters who didn\u2019t get to cast their ballot/had to leave and come back. WATCH @WPXI at noon & 5. #Decision2018 #Vote2018 #ElectionDay #wpxi\u201d— Mike Holden (@Mike Holden) 1541520306
Extremely long waits were also reported in Georgia, where the Republican candidate for governor, Brian Kemp, is also the Secretary of State and is responsible for overseeing the state's elections. At 5:00pm on Tuesday, five Georgia voters filed an emergency lawsuit seeking to stop him from exercising any further power over the state's elections.
"Allowing one of the candidates to not just preside over their own election but misuse their office to give them an unfair advantage is just anti-democratic and unlawful," said Bryan L. Sells, an attorney representing the voters, in a statement.
In Snellville, Georgia, the state had evidently not provided a polling location with power cords for the voting machines, leaving voters with no way to cast their ballots after the machines' batteries ran out.
\u201cIn Georgia, officials did not supply power cords for their voting machines at a polling site in a mostly African-American neighborhood. \n\nThe batteries died and people waiter for hours. \n\nThis is voter suppression y\u2019all.\u201d— zellie (@zellie) 1541528434
Both reports drew ire from critics who in recent weeks have decried a number of voter suppression efforts by Kemp's office--including the attempted closure of polling places in majority-black areas and an attempt to disenfranchise 53,000 mostly-black voters for clerical errors on voting forms.
\u201cA reminder that voting advocates have pushed Brian Kemp and his office to provide a paper back-up for its electronic voting machines. Kemp has refused https://t.co/mxICO5R1wj\u201d— Kira Lerner (@Kira Lerner) 1541524128
\u201cSpeculation over malevolent intent aside, the voting troubles in Georgia are a sign of stunning administrative incompetence on the part of Sec of State Brian Kemp.\u201d— Elise Jordan (@Elise Jordan) 1541530753
Voters in Georgia also reported that they had been turned away at the polls despite presenting photo IDs that are ostensibly accepted forms of identification for voters in the state.
\u201cThe line to vote at the Liberty Baptist Church in Atlanta is roughly 1.5 hours right now. I\u2019m hearing reports that voters with student ID are being denied ballots, even though student IDs are valid forms of voter ID here in Georgia\u201d— Kira Lerner (@Kira Lerner) 1541536830
Reports of difficulties casting votes are common on Election Day in the U.S.--and stand as incontrovertible evidence, critics say, that the country's democratic system is broken.
\u201cIt's hard to blame people for losing faith in the system when you see images of long lines, broken machines, lack of power chords. Is voting meant to be an obstacle course?\u201d— Daniel Jos\u00e9 Camacho (@Daniel Jos\u00e9 Camacho) 1541536661
The reports also intensified demands that the U.S. should demonstrate the same respect for the democratic process that countries including Mexico and France do--by ensuring that voters can make their voices heard without having to worry about getting to work.
\u201cReports of broken voting machines, long lines, locked precincts...absolutely ridiculous. This country is a joke when it comes to encouraging electoral participation. Election Day should be a holiday, and there should be 3-5 times more early voting stations as well.\u201d— Tim Wise (@Tim Wise) 1541529196
\u201cElection Day should be a national holiday (Democracy Day perhaps?); it should be illegal to use voting machines that do not have an auditable paper trail; more states should adopt automatic voter registration; and there should be a legal limit to average wait times per precinct.\u201d— Brian Klaas (@Brian Klaas) 1541524496
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A poll released as Americans cast their ballots in the midterm elections on Tuesday shows that more than half of the country believes Election Day should be made a national holiday--a likely partial solution to a number of problems that plague the voting system.
Fifty-four percent of respondents to the survey, taken by Hill.TV and HarrisX, say workers should be given the day off on Election Day, allowing them far more time to vote, saving them from having to leave their polling places without voting due to long lines and issues with voting machines, and potentially changing the United States' generally low election turnout for the better.
On social media, a number of politicians and political observers voiced support for the idea.
\u201cNew York is a state *without* early voting, mail-in ballots, or no-excuse absentee.\n\nYou can only cast a ballot from 6am-9pm. Election Day isn\u2019t a holiday.\n\nWhen pollsites break down, it has enormous consequences for election turnout.\n\nEnough. We need voting reform in New York.\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1541519199
\u201cEvery Election Day we are reminded of the weirdness of Columbus Day being a federal holiday instead\u201d— Ben Rhodes (@Ben Rhodes) 1541536896
\u201cWhy isn't Election Day a federal holiday?\u201d— Jennifer Bendery (@Jennifer Bendery) 1541533014
\u201cThere is a bill in Congress to do this. It has 28 Democratic sponsors in the House. No Republicans. https://t.co/HR0v9YLNSZ\u201d— Jennifer Bendery (@Jennifer Bendery) 1541533014
At least 12 states were reporting broken or faulty voting machines on Tuesday, including New York, Georgia, and Arizona. As a result, voters in some states were given provisional ballots--which are not always counted--while others were forced to leave polling places without voting.
Reports on social media showed that voters in New York, Florida, Indiana, and Pennsylvania were among those who had to leave due to voting machine issues.
\u201c@TB_Times League of Women's rep Karen Coal reports long lines at St. Pete's Lake Vista until about 9:30. Some would-be voters had to leave for work.#ElectionDay\u201d— Waveney Ann Moore (@Waveney Ann Moore) 1541517951
\u201cClerk: \u201cBe patient with us, and please come back.\u201d - message to voters who have had to leave polls after waiting too long.\u201d— Ryan Thedwall (@Ryan Thedwall) 1541526911
\u201cPenn Hills Polling Problem: Rover couldn\u2019t open the machines, forcing polling precinct along Universal to open late. I\u2019m talking with voters who didn\u2019t get to cast their ballot/had to leave and come back. WATCH @WPXI at noon & 5. #Decision2018 #Vote2018 #ElectionDay #wpxi\u201d— Mike Holden (@Mike Holden) 1541520306
Extremely long waits were also reported in Georgia, where the Republican candidate for governor, Brian Kemp, is also the Secretary of State and is responsible for overseeing the state's elections. At 5:00pm on Tuesday, five Georgia voters filed an emergency lawsuit seeking to stop him from exercising any further power over the state's elections.
"Allowing one of the candidates to not just preside over their own election but misuse their office to give them an unfair advantage is just anti-democratic and unlawful," said Bryan L. Sells, an attorney representing the voters, in a statement.
In Snellville, Georgia, the state had evidently not provided a polling location with power cords for the voting machines, leaving voters with no way to cast their ballots after the machines' batteries ran out.
\u201cIn Georgia, officials did not supply power cords for their voting machines at a polling site in a mostly African-American neighborhood. \n\nThe batteries died and people waiter for hours. \n\nThis is voter suppression y\u2019all.\u201d— zellie (@zellie) 1541528434
Both reports drew ire from critics who in recent weeks have decried a number of voter suppression efforts by Kemp's office--including the attempted closure of polling places in majority-black areas and an attempt to disenfranchise 53,000 mostly-black voters for clerical errors on voting forms.
\u201cA reminder that voting advocates have pushed Brian Kemp and his office to provide a paper back-up for its electronic voting machines. Kemp has refused https://t.co/mxICO5R1wj\u201d— Kira Lerner (@Kira Lerner) 1541524128
\u201cSpeculation over malevolent intent aside, the voting troubles in Georgia are a sign of stunning administrative incompetence on the part of Sec of State Brian Kemp.\u201d— Elise Jordan (@Elise Jordan) 1541530753
Voters in Georgia also reported that they had been turned away at the polls despite presenting photo IDs that are ostensibly accepted forms of identification for voters in the state.
\u201cThe line to vote at the Liberty Baptist Church in Atlanta is roughly 1.5 hours right now. I\u2019m hearing reports that voters with student ID are being denied ballots, even though student IDs are valid forms of voter ID here in Georgia\u201d— Kira Lerner (@Kira Lerner) 1541536830
Reports of difficulties casting votes are common on Election Day in the U.S.--and stand as incontrovertible evidence, critics say, that the country's democratic system is broken.
\u201cIt's hard to blame people for losing faith in the system when you see images of long lines, broken machines, lack of power chords. Is voting meant to be an obstacle course?\u201d— Daniel Jos\u00e9 Camacho (@Daniel Jos\u00e9 Camacho) 1541536661
The reports also intensified demands that the U.S. should demonstrate the same respect for the democratic process that countries including Mexico and France do--by ensuring that voters can make their voices heard without having to worry about getting to work.
\u201cReports of broken voting machines, long lines, locked precincts...absolutely ridiculous. This country is a joke when it comes to encouraging electoral participation. Election Day should be a holiday, and there should be 3-5 times more early voting stations as well.\u201d— Tim Wise (@Tim Wise) 1541529196
\u201cElection Day should be a national holiday (Democracy Day perhaps?); it should be illegal to use voting machines that do not have an auditable paper trail; more states should adopt automatic voter registration; and there should be a legal limit to average wait times per precinct.\u201d— Brian Klaas (@Brian Klaas) 1541524496
A poll released as Americans cast their ballots in the midterm elections on Tuesday shows that more than half of the country believes Election Day should be made a national holiday--a likely partial solution to a number of problems that plague the voting system.
Fifty-four percent of respondents to the survey, taken by Hill.TV and HarrisX, say workers should be given the day off on Election Day, allowing them far more time to vote, saving them from having to leave their polling places without voting due to long lines and issues with voting machines, and potentially changing the United States' generally low election turnout for the better.
On social media, a number of politicians and political observers voiced support for the idea.
\u201cNew York is a state *without* early voting, mail-in ballots, or no-excuse absentee.\n\nYou can only cast a ballot from 6am-9pm. Election Day isn\u2019t a holiday.\n\nWhen pollsites break down, it has enormous consequences for election turnout.\n\nEnough. We need voting reform in New York.\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1541519199
\u201cEvery Election Day we are reminded of the weirdness of Columbus Day being a federal holiday instead\u201d— Ben Rhodes (@Ben Rhodes) 1541536896
\u201cWhy isn't Election Day a federal holiday?\u201d— Jennifer Bendery (@Jennifer Bendery) 1541533014
\u201cThere is a bill in Congress to do this. It has 28 Democratic sponsors in the House. No Republicans. https://t.co/HR0v9YLNSZ\u201d— Jennifer Bendery (@Jennifer Bendery) 1541533014
At least 12 states were reporting broken or faulty voting machines on Tuesday, including New York, Georgia, and Arizona. As a result, voters in some states were given provisional ballots--which are not always counted--while others were forced to leave polling places without voting.
Reports on social media showed that voters in New York, Florida, Indiana, and Pennsylvania were among those who had to leave due to voting machine issues.
\u201c@TB_Times League of Women's rep Karen Coal reports long lines at St. Pete's Lake Vista until about 9:30. Some would-be voters had to leave for work.#ElectionDay\u201d— Waveney Ann Moore (@Waveney Ann Moore) 1541517951
\u201cClerk: \u201cBe patient with us, and please come back.\u201d - message to voters who have had to leave polls after waiting too long.\u201d— Ryan Thedwall (@Ryan Thedwall) 1541526911
\u201cPenn Hills Polling Problem: Rover couldn\u2019t open the machines, forcing polling precinct along Universal to open late. I\u2019m talking with voters who didn\u2019t get to cast their ballot/had to leave and come back. WATCH @WPXI at noon & 5. #Decision2018 #Vote2018 #ElectionDay #wpxi\u201d— Mike Holden (@Mike Holden) 1541520306
Extremely long waits were also reported in Georgia, where the Republican candidate for governor, Brian Kemp, is also the Secretary of State and is responsible for overseeing the state's elections. At 5:00pm on Tuesday, five Georgia voters filed an emergency lawsuit seeking to stop him from exercising any further power over the state's elections.
"Allowing one of the candidates to not just preside over their own election but misuse their office to give them an unfair advantage is just anti-democratic and unlawful," said Bryan L. Sells, an attorney representing the voters, in a statement.
In Snellville, Georgia, the state had evidently not provided a polling location with power cords for the voting machines, leaving voters with no way to cast their ballots after the machines' batteries ran out.
\u201cIn Georgia, officials did not supply power cords for their voting machines at a polling site in a mostly African-American neighborhood. \n\nThe batteries died and people waiter for hours. \n\nThis is voter suppression y\u2019all.\u201d— zellie (@zellie) 1541528434
Both reports drew ire from critics who in recent weeks have decried a number of voter suppression efforts by Kemp's office--including the attempted closure of polling places in majority-black areas and an attempt to disenfranchise 53,000 mostly-black voters for clerical errors on voting forms.
\u201cA reminder that voting advocates have pushed Brian Kemp and his office to provide a paper back-up for its electronic voting machines. Kemp has refused https://t.co/mxICO5R1wj\u201d— Kira Lerner (@Kira Lerner) 1541524128
\u201cSpeculation over malevolent intent aside, the voting troubles in Georgia are a sign of stunning administrative incompetence on the part of Sec of State Brian Kemp.\u201d— Elise Jordan (@Elise Jordan) 1541530753
Voters in Georgia also reported that they had been turned away at the polls despite presenting photo IDs that are ostensibly accepted forms of identification for voters in the state.
\u201cThe line to vote at the Liberty Baptist Church in Atlanta is roughly 1.5 hours right now. I\u2019m hearing reports that voters with student ID are being denied ballots, even though student IDs are valid forms of voter ID here in Georgia\u201d— Kira Lerner (@Kira Lerner) 1541536830
Reports of difficulties casting votes are common on Election Day in the U.S.--and stand as incontrovertible evidence, critics say, that the country's democratic system is broken.
\u201cIt's hard to blame people for losing faith in the system when you see images of long lines, broken machines, lack of power chords. Is voting meant to be an obstacle course?\u201d— Daniel Jos\u00e9 Camacho (@Daniel Jos\u00e9 Camacho) 1541536661
The reports also intensified demands that the U.S. should demonstrate the same respect for the democratic process that countries including Mexico and France do--by ensuring that voters can make their voices heard without having to worry about getting to work.
\u201cReports of broken voting machines, long lines, locked precincts...absolutely ridiculous. This country is a joke when it comes to encouraging electoral participation. Election Day should be a holiday, and there should be 3-5 times more early voting stations as well.\u201d— Tim Wise (@Tim Wise) 1541529196
\u201cElection Day should be a national holiday (Democracy Day perhaps?); it should be illegal to use voting machines that do not have an auditable paper trail; more states should adopt automatic voter registration; and there should be a legal limit to average wait times per precinct.\u201d— Brian Klaas (@Brian Klaas) 1541524496
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