One of the most inspirational moments of this election cycle came on Friday night–the last night of early voting in Nevada. The line at one precinct in Las Vegas, a Latino supermarket, was so long that it stretched outside the store. It was part of a record single-day turnout for early voting in Las Vegas that, by most accounts from the ground, may have locked up Nevada for Hillary Clinton.
At first glance, this was democracy at its best–a classic sign of voters’ determination to stay in line and let themselves be heard. And in this case, it was the textbook sign of Latino outrage at Donald Trump. However, as touching as that was, it turns out that it may be a symptom of a very big problem. Those long lines during early voting should come as a warning to election officials around the country. It means that not enough time or money is being spent to ensure people get in and out of the polls as quickly as possible.
Freelance journalist and former NPR reporter Saahil Desai went to cast his ballot this weekend in his hometown of Cincinnati. You may recall that Ohio’s Republican-controlled legislature slashed a week from the early-voting period. While a federal judge restored that week, a federal appeals court sided with the legislature, and the Supreme Court refused to intervene.
Desai saw the results first-hand.
4,000 people are waiting in line to vote in Cincinnati right now. This is how long the line is. pic.twitter.com/bilpnGsrzl
— Saahil Desai (@Saahil_Desai) November 6, 2016
This is what happens when there's only one place to early vote in a county of 800,000+
— Saahil Desai (@Saahil_Desai) November 6, 2016
Not just one place to vote early in a fairly big county–but one place to vote early in a county with a fairly large city.
The day before, CBS News’ Jacqueline Alemany was an hour up the road in Columbus, and captured this scene just as the polls closed for the day.
https://twitter.com/JaxAlemany/status/794997121145602048
The line literally stretched from one end of the Franklin County board of elections building to the other.
Her CBS colleague, Sean Gallitz, captured a similar scene at North Carolina State University. At the urging of state GOP officials, county elections boards in much of the state significantly reduced hours for early voting. This is the result.
*ALMOST* this entire line outside @NCState to vote early just before the 1pm cut off. Everyone in a good mood – pizza is coming. pic.twitter.com/mn8AoJ4NOq
— Sean Gallitz (@seangallitz) November 5, 2016
It didn’t have to happen this way. Back in 2012, people across the country were forced to stay in line for hours on Election Day. In response, President Obama asked a bipartisan commission to recommend changes. The commission recommended that it take no more than half an hour for the average voter to get in and out of the polls. It recommended a host of changes to reduce wait times–including an increase in “alternative ways in voting,” such as voting by mail and early voting.
As if there wasn’t already ample warning that this needed to be fixed, and quickly, it’s been an open secret that whoever won the Democratic nomination would get the keys to the massive ground operation that powered Obama into the White House. That, of course, means more new voters at the polls. But as we’ve already seen, a number of states have actually slashed their early voting periods–and we’ve seen the results.
This should prove it beyond all doubt–election officials aren’t devoting enough resources to ensuring people get in and out when turnout is going to be high. This is a problem that needs to be fixed, and quickly. But don’t let a long line dissuade you on Tuesday. Michael Skolknik, the creator of the #ObamaAndKids hashtag, is already trying to make another popular hashtag a trend for Tuesday.
We might as well start this one early.#StayInLine
— Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) November 7, 2016
All indications are that Hillary has the momentum–but she needs us to help her finish the job. Don’t just get out and vote tomorrow. Stay in line until your vote is cast. It cannot be stressed enough–if you are still in line when the polls close, you still have the right to vote. So whatever you do, no matter how long the line is, do not leave.
(featured image courtesy Jon Hogan’s Twitter)
