Justice Finds No Discrimination in Voting Machines Distribution
Ohio News Network
July 1st, 2005
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COLUMBUS, Ohio --
The U.S. Department of Justice says it found no evidence of
discrimination in the distribution of voting machines in two Ohio
counties in the close 2004 presidential election. The
department, which is part of the Bush administration, began
investigating after voters complained of long voting lines and alleged
discrimination in Franklin and Knox counties. Investigators wanted to
determine if elections officials had intentionally skewed the placement
of machines.
The Justice Department
said the distribution in Franklin County narrowly favored black voters.
Because turnout in predominantly black precincts was lower than in
white ones, machines in those districts averaged fewer votes, according
to a report released Wednesday.
An
unanticipated 76 percent turnout _ with many first-time voters _
contributed to the long lines in the Kenyon College precinct in Knox
County, according to a report released in June. Some voters waited
until 4 a.m. to cast their ballots.
President Bush won re-election Nov. 2 with his win in Ohio over Democrat John Kerry.
A
Democratic National Committee report released last week found more
complaints statewide among black voters about voting than white voters.
Walter
Mebane, a Cornell University professor who worked on the DNC report,
said voters in mainly black precincts in Franklin County who showed up
early to vote found fewer machines than those who voted later, which
could explain some of the differences between the two reports.
Distribution
of voting machines is determined by county boards of elections, made up
of two Democrats, two Republicans and two nonvoting members.
Franklin
County had 2,904 machines on hand for 535,575 people who showed up to
vote. The county intends to have at least 5,000 machines operating in
2008, said Michael Damschroder, elections board director.
When
final registration numbers were available for the Kenyon College
precinct, the Knox County board already had decided on the distribution
of voting machines. Between March and November of 2004, the number of
registered voters at the precinct more than doubled to 1,607. Two
machines were available.
The county
hopes to buy one new machine for every 175 voters, which based on
current registration figures, would give the county about 200 new
machines. The board will reserve six machines to dispatch on Election
Day to crowded precincts, said Rita Yarman, board director. |
