Louisiana Sec. of State investigates blocked ballots
From Ballotpedia
October 6, 2008
Secretary of State Jay Dardenne announced he is wants to determine how many independents were wrongly barred from voting in the 2nd Congressional District primary before he certifies the results.[1]
Complaints by Independents
Complaints were filed Saturday by registered independents when they were electronically blocked from voting in the Democratic primary. Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal Court Arthur Morrell, the parish's top elections official, said the errors should have been rectified by offering affected voters a paper provisional ballot, however many did not get that offer. "We'll have to see how many people come forward and determine how it may have affected the race before we decide anything," Dardenne said in a telephone interview Saturday night.[1]
Worker Training
Dardenne said the poll workers and poll commissioners received detailed training, including required classes and take-home DVDs, on how to handle independent or unaffiliated voters. Morrell said the commissioners were clearly directed to press a No. 1 button on the back of voting machines if a voter was a registered Democrat or an independent who wanted to vote in the Democratic primary and to press the No. 7 button if the voter was a registered member of the Republican, Green, Libertarian or Reform party. It was only the second election since Louisiana switched from an open primary system to one in which different parties hold separate contests. [1]
Voter Confusion
Karl Schroeder, an independent who voted on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish, said that when he complained about not being able to vote in the Democratic congressional primary, he was told: "Only Democrats can cast a ballot in that contest." Separately, Vera Triplett of New Orleans said the same thing happened to her at the Chapel the Holy Comforter on Lakeshore Drive. Both said they took the poll workers' word for the rules, thinking they must have misunderstood the recent change in the law. "I think that a lot of independent voters were disenfranchised," Schroeder said. "Were our numbers enough to change the outcome? Probably not. But our little mini-Florida election warrants further looking into."[1]
See also
References
 |
