A List of State by State Voting Disputes

• Originally published by the Associated Press [here] on 11/1/2004

Fact Sheet: Voting Disputes

Here is information about disputes involving the 2004 presidential campaign and voting.

OVERALL

    ?     To report problems, some states are referring voters to a hotline: (866) OURVOTE.
    ?     The "Help America Vote Act" passed in 2002 aimed to fix the problems from 2000, but the act was never fully funded and many states got temporary waivers on key issues.
    ?     Thirty percent of voters this year will use the punch card or lever machines that were such a problem in 2000.
    ?     The touchscreen machines that meet the new requirements have been skittish, failing on several tests.
    ?     Democrats alone have trained 10,000 lawyers to be ready for possible election lawsuits.
    ?     Both George Bush and John Kerry have raised millions of dollars for legal funds in case of a long recount battle.

TERMS

    ?     CHAD: The piece of paper punched out of a hole on a punch card ballot.
    ?     PROVISIONAL BALLOTS: Those are a sort of 'backup' ballot given to people who show up to vote either in the wrong precinct or without correct identification. Elections officials generally go back later to make sure those ballots are valid. Not every state allows for provisional ballot voting. Voters in Florida, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio must be in the right precinct in order to cast a ballot. Officials in Iowa and Nevada say voters can cast provisional or paper ballots if they go to the wrong precinct, but only if they are in the right county (Iowa) or congressional district (Nev.).
    ?     PUNCH CARD BALLOTS: The types of voting machines in which a voter punches their vote through a card. In Florida in 2000, cards that were double-punched or half-punched holes (the infamous 'hanging chad') led to fiery controversy.

DISPUTES BY STATE

ALABAMA
    ?     RESIGNATION: The state's head of voter registration quit less than two weeks before the election.
    ?     VOTER REGISTRATION: Counties are struggling with a huge backlog of last-minute voter registrations, hoping to have everyone recorded by Election Day.

ARKANSAS
    ?     NADER: The state supreme court ruled Ralph Nader's name must go on the ballot, reversing an earlier court decision.
    ?     OVERSEAS VOTERS: The legal feud over Nader delayed the printing of ballot and meant that at least some troops overseas received only federal write-in ballots. Those are just seven lines long and some say they don't give enough room for voters.

COLORADO
    ?     DELAYED RESULTS?: The state's top election official says Colorado could hold up the election results for days or weeks because of new voting rules and potential legal fights.
    ?     ELECTORAL VOTES: A judge has ruled that voters can decide whether they want the state's electoral votes to all go to the candidate winning a majority, or to be given out in proportion to the popular vote. The issue is on the November ballot. The change would begin with this year's presidential race.
    ?     FELONS: Officials discovered that some 6,352 felons were registered to vote improperly.
    ?     LAWSUIT PREP: The state's top election official has hired a team of two Republican and two Democratic lawyers to defend her in any election-related lawsuits.
    ?     OVERSEAS VOTERS: Overseas voters have until Nov. 12 to get their ballots to their local county clerks' offices, because of a lawsuit over Ralph Nader's appearance on the ballot.
    ?     POLL COMPLAINT/PUEBLO COUNTY: Republican poll watchers claim officials in Pueblo County failed to check ID's for early voters.
    ?     PROVISIONAL BALLOTS: Voters who go to the wrong precinct and who refuse to go to the right precinct can vote with provisional ballots, but their votes will only count in the presidential race. Voters who applied for an absentee ballot but who never used it can vote on a provisional ballot as long as they swear they have not used the absentee ballot.
    ?     REGISTRATION FRAUD: Up to 1,000 voter registration applications in the state could prompt fraud cases because of bad birth dates, names or signatures. If those are found to be fraudulent, it could lead to investigation of tens of thousands more. The Denver Post reports some 3,700 people have registered to vote in more than one Colorado County. Most of them are reportedly college age. In Denver, two people have been charged with filling out multiple voter-registration forms. Officials say similar investigations are under way in several counties.
    ?     VOTING MACHINES: Machines used to count votes in Boulder County choked on improperly marked ballots in a recent test.

FLORIDA
    ?     BROWARD COUNTY: The county was a hot-spot in the recount battle four years ago. It's been sending out thousands of absentee ballots in recent days to people who requested them weeks ago. There were a lot of complaints from Broward voters who said the ballots sent out earlier never arrived.
    ?     BAY COUNTY: The election supervisor says he found 3 forged voter applications. One of the forgeries was his own son's name.
    ?     DUVAL COUNTY: Officials have asked for investigation of 25 registration forms that appear to have bogus addresses including one for a park and another for a parking lot.
    ?     PALM BEACH COUNTY: Lawyers are standing over the shoulders of election officials as they decide whether the signatures on about 125 absentee ballots match those on voter registration forms. Republican lawyers have challenged seven ballots, saying the signatures didn't match. Democrats, who have the majority of registered voters in Palm Beach County, say they want every vote to count.
    ?     REGISTRATION FRAUD: Florida Republican leaders say they have a list of voters who are improperly registered, and shouldn't be allowed to cast ballots. But a voting rights advocate says the list may not be accurate.
    ?     PROVISIONAL BALLOTS: Election workers have been told to hand out provisional ballots, in order to keep the lines moving if there are disputes over the eligibility of voters. Those ballots will count if it eventually turns out that the person is entitled to vote. The ACLU has filed a lawsuit pressing for the state to let people vote even if they go to the wrong precinct. They would be given provisional ballots that would later be checked for validation.
    ?     FELONS: Republicans have told Florida officials that 925 convicted felons who lost the right to vote have either already voted or have requested absentee ballots. After a tense dispute, Florida has scrapped a faulty list that was being used to purge people from voter rolls.
    ?     MANUAL RECOUNT: A state court has upheld a Florida rule for manual recounts in 15 counties that use touch-screen voting machines.
    ?     REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Boxes of registration forms reached state officials just after the October 4 deadline. Those people will be registered, but not in time for this year's election.
    ?     REGISTRATION FORMS: Elections officials will not have to process incomplete voter registration forms, according to a judge's ruling. The issue surrounds forms in which people signed an oath that they were American citizens but didn't check off a box asking if they are citizens.
    ?     VOTING RECEIPTS: A judge has ruled that Florida's touch-screen voting machines do not have to produce a paper record. A Democratic congressman had sued on the issue, concerned about the need for records in case of a recount.

GEORGIA
    ?     HISPANIC VOTE: Officials in a rural Georgia county have thrown out a complaint that required 95 Hispanic residents to attend a hearing to defend their right to vote. The Atkinson County Board of Registrars dismissed most of the complaints at the start of the hearing, saying it could open the county to charges of violating the Voting Rights Act.

IOWA
    ?     PROVISIONAL BALLOTS: Iowa attorney's general says election officials won't count ballots cast in the wrong precinct on election night. But his office also says those provisional ballots will be set aside and held in case of a lawsuit over whether they are legal.
    ?     REGISTRATION FORMS: Iowa elections officials say new voters cannot vote for president if they didn't check a box asking whether they are U-S citizens. Officials say such voters can cast ballots for state and local races, but not for president.

MICHIGAN
    ?     PROVISIONAL BALLOTS: An appeals court has overturned an earlier federal ruling and now voters who go to the wrong polling place cannot fill out a paper ballot. That's seen as a victory for the Bush campaign.

MINNESOTA
    ?     CAMPAIGN PREPS: Both campaigns have sent hundreds of monitors to the state. Democrats are said to be targeting 600 precincts. Republicans also have waves of lawyers and poll-watchers in the state.
    ?     FRAUD SUSPICION: State Republicans have expressed concern about a man found with 300 completed voter registration cards in his trunk.
    ?     OFFICIAL BIAS: A judge has ruled that officials don't have to say whether elections judges are Republicans or Democrats. Republicans had requested the information, which would have increased scrutiny of the process.

MISSISSIPPI
    ?     WRONG VOTER ROLLS: In 34 of Mississippi's 82 counties, there are more registered voters than there are people old enough to vote. That information comes from the secretary of state's office. One official says many county logs are "inaccurate and inflated."

NEW JERSEY
    ?     VOTING MACHINES: A judge has ruled that the state can use electronic voting machines, rejecting a suit that called the machines unreliable.

NEVADA
    ?     REGISTRATION FRAUD: A court is considering extending the voter registration deadline after reports that one company hired by Republicans collected and then destroyed Democratic registration forms. An employee of the company says he saw a supervisor tear up Democratic forms. The company says that man is a disgruntled ex-employee. (see below)
    ?     REGISTRATION FRAUD SUIT: A couple is asking the state Supreme Court to allow them to vote, saying they have a registration receipt from Voter Outreach of America, but are not actually registered to vote. The company worked for the Republican party and the couple and others claim that workers lost or destroyed registration applications, especially from Democrats.
    ?     VOTING RECEIPTS: Nevada is the only state in the union requiring paper receipts for everyone voting on electronic ATM-style machine.

NEW MEXICO
    ?     VOTER IDS: the state Supreme Court has ruled that most new voters do not have to show any identification when they vote. Only those who registered by mail must show ID's. Republicans raised objections to the no-ID policy as voter drives have registered large numbers of traditionally Democratic voters. Most New Mexicans have never had to show ID when going to the polls.

NORTH CAROLINA
    ?     MECKLENBURG COUNTY: The state Republican Party is filing a complaint that officials in Mecklenburg County coached voters on how to file a straight Democratic ticket.
    ?     REGISTRATION FRAUD: As many as 60,000 people may be registered to vote in both North and South Carolina. An investigation by the Charlotte Observer also found that nearly 200 people voted in both states in the 2000 election. An immigration group is worried that illegal immigrants were able to register to vote when they obtained their driver's licenses. State officials say that's only a handful of people.

OHIO
    ?     VOTER FRAUD/GOP SUIT: A second judge has ruled that only poll workers
    ?     not people appointed by parties
    ?     can challenge someone's eligibility to vote at the polls. This comes as Republicans in Ohio say they plan to appeal an earlier federal ruling that said the state's law allowing challengers is "unconstitutional."
    ?     CUYAHOGA COUNTY: Voter say the layout for the ballot is confusing and might prompt some voters to pick the wrong candidate or no candidate at all.
    ?     PUNCH CARDS: 68 of 88 counties in Ohio will use punch card ballots this year. That's the system that became infamous in Florida in 2000.
    ?     NADER: The US Supreme Court has ruled that Ralph Nader should not appear on the ballot in Ohio.
    ?     PROVISIONAL BALLOTS: A court has ruled that voters must go to their correct precinct in order to vote. If they go to the wrong polling place they will not be allowed to fill out a provisional or paper ballot. That's seen as a victory for the Bush campaign.

OREGON
    ?     FRAUD INVESTIGATION: State officials are looking into allegations from a man who was paid to register voters. The worker told a TV station that he was told to accept only registration from Republican voters and that he "might" destroy applications from Democrats. One county clerk says she's heard from voters that canvassers pushed them to register as Republicans, with the workers allegedly saying they wouldn't get paid otherwise.

PENNSYLVANIA
    ?     NADER: The Supreme Court has said that Ralph Nader should not be put on the Pennsylvania ballot. This came after accusations that thousands of signatures on his petitions were forged or made up.
    ?     OVERSEAS VOTERS: Two servicemen on duty in Iraq and Afghanistan filed a suit asking for a 15-day extension for the return of overseas ballots. They say they needed the time because ballots were delayed while courts ruled on whether Ralph Nader's name should appear on them.
    ?     REGISTRATION FRAUD: People working in a Republican-funded voter registration drive said they were told to avoid signing up Democrats or people who might vote for John Kerry. Republicans deny that.
    ?     STATE PREP: The state is sending one state worker, and a cell phone, to each county election office on Nov. 2 in order to watch for problems.

RHODE ISLAND
    ?     PROVISIONAL BALLOTS: A state judge is expected to hear a request to bar the state Elections Board from invalidating provisional election ballots. Provisional ballots will be given to people who registered to vote by mail but didn't include identification with their application. Under federal election laws, these people are allowed to vote. The state elections board says they must show identification at the polling place, or their ballot won't be counted. The lawsuit comes from the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

SOUTH CAROLINA
    ?     REGISTRATION FRAUD: As many as 60,000 people may be registered to vote in both North and South Carolina. An investigation by the Charlotte Observer also found that nearly 200 people voted in both states in the 2000 election.

SOUTH DAKOTA
    ?     The state's attorney general is charging six Republican notaries public with illegally notarizing absentee ballot applications from college campuses. The attorney general says there's no evidence of fraud but the applications will be challenged.

WASHINGTON, DC
    ?     POLL WATCHERS: The Justice Department is sending out three times as many poll watchers in D-C this Election Day than in 2000, looking for issues with absentee ballots or provisional ballots.

WISCONSIN
    ?     FELONS: Republicans say some felons in the county jail in Madison obtained absentee ballots and at least one sent a ballot in. Election officials say they won't be counted.
    ?     MILWAUKEE: Gov. Jim Doyle has asked the state elections board to step in after Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett complained there may not be enough ballots for his city. The county executive turned down his request for more ballots, saying the mayor's estimates are "ridiculous."
    ?     NADER: The state supreme court ruled Oct. 1 that Nader's name be put on the ballot.
    ?     OVERSEAS VOTERS: Have until Nov. 2 to get ballots to municipal clerks. That's a delay from the original Oct. 2 deadline because of the legal dispute over Ralph Nader's place on the ballot.
    ?     REGISTRATION FRAUD: Milwaukee's election commission threw out a Republican complaint alleging that more than 5,600 addresses on the city's voter rolls may not exist. The commission says Republicans didn't prove the registrations were invalid. Democrats say the problems were typos.
    ?     STUDENT VOTER DRIVE: The superintendent of Milwaukee schools has stopped a get-out-the-vote program involving students following complaints that it's linked to a pro-Kerry organization.
    ?     STATE PREPS: Wisconsin's secretary of state has put together a 50-person rapid-response team to complaints and concerns.
    ?     QUOTE: "There's a level of paranoia," Chuck Samuelson with the AFL-CIO of Wisconsin.


Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.