Long lines
Cleveland Plain Dealer  January 22, 2005

Voting is first come, first served. How long should it take to vote? How long is so long that eligible voters are wrongfully disenfranchised?

PROBLEM: Some voters waited as long as 11 hours in line to cast ballots. Some walked away because they didn't have time to wait. 
 
"Their experience, in terms of the voting process, should not be different based on where they live," said Jon Greenbaum, director of the Voter's Committee for Civil Rights under Law's voting rights project.

REFORM: There are several ways to address long lines. More voting machines, improved poll worker training and simplified Election Day tasks would ease congestion, experts said.

Lifting restrictions on absentee ballots may encourage more people to vote at their kitchen table, an idea Blackwell floated once before and already has raised again. But there's a flip side.

"If you allow people to vote at home for their own convenience, you open the risk of people looking over people's shoulders as they cast their vote," said Ohio State's Ned Foley.

Use of early voting would take the pressure off crowded polling places by stretching out traffic flow. By adding convenience, it might also boost turnout.

Foley would favor four-day voting Saturday through Tuesday over the two-week period Florida uses. Too much can happen that may influence a voter teetering among candidates, he said.