Voters run into problems at polls

Many students complained about waiting in long lines and
experiencing difficulties while voting Nov. 7, and student leaders
are looking into why.

The Students Vote Coalition, part of the Undergraduate Students
Association’s Office of the External Vice President,
conducted poll-watching at three sites at and around the UCLA
campus. The coalition reported that about half of the students who
attempted to vote were required to cast provisional ballots, since
their names were not on the list of registered voters.

Provisional ballots are collected but not opened or counted
until county officials verify a voter’s eligibility. Voters
are given a pink Provisional Voter Receipt and state law gives the
Registrar-Recorder County Clerk’s Office 28 days after the
election to verify and count the provisional votes.

But the coalition said the difficulties relating to Election Day
started long before students arrived at the polls.

The coalition worked with the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder
County Clerk’s Office to secure early polling places sites on
campus, which gives voters the option to cast a ballot via
touchscreen during a 10-day period before Election Day , but
experienced various difficulties throughout the process, said
Lauren Macheski, the voting and national affairs coordinator for
the Undergraduate Students Association.

“They’ve worked with us, but it’s very
difficult to get what we need from them,” Macheski said.

Macheski said Students Vote attempted to secure an early voting
location on campus but was denied by the county.

Tina Park, Undergraduate Students Association Council external
vice president, said student leaders have been working on bringing
the early voting option to UCLA for years, adding that colleges
which do have early polling places often have a higher turnout on
Election Day.

Park said the coalition has been working with a college
coordinator from the county since June and initially discussed
plans to use “motor voter,” a RV polling station used
in areas such as Riverside County. Park was told by the county that
it lacked funds for the RV.

Since they were facing difficulties from the county, the
coalition asked Janina Montero, vice chancellor of Student Affairs,
to write a letter on their behalf, Macheski said.

Lauren Bartlett, a university spokesman, confirmed that the
student coalition asked for the administration’s help in
gaining an early voting place, and that the university did not
receive a response.

Park said she did get a response from the county, but that the
county told her UCLA was inaccessible by the community and an early
voting location at UCLA would be unreasonable. But, county
officials said the reason UCLA did not get an early polling place
was because the coalition requested it too late.

Though Park said the coalition has made efforts to secure an
early polling place since early summer, Grace Chavez, spokeswoman
for the registrar-recorder county clerk, said early voting
locations were chosen about six months ago and the request from
UCLA came too late.

“Time was a major concern,” she said.

Throughout the county, 16 early voting locations were available
during the election, mostly in public libraries and city halls.

Park said this was the first time a student organization
conducted poll-watching, and many UC campuses participated as part
of an effort initiated by the University of California Students
Association’s UC Student Vote! project, which is a UC-wide
effort to promote voting.

Macheski said the coalition registered 2,300 students to vote,
and 1,000 registration forms were submitted to the Los Angeles
Registrar-Recorder County Clerk’s Office on Oct. 23, the
deadline.

Park said the coalition made efforts to submit forms in a timely
manner, and said all forms were given to the Registrar’s
Office within three days of being received. She also attributed the
large amount of forms turned in on deadline to students’
last-minute rush to register.

Chavez said registrations received within 15 days of the
deadline were added onto a supplemental roster of registered
voters, which was at each polling site.

But many students found their names on neither list Tuesday and
had to cast their votes on a provisional ballot.

“Almost all our provisional ballots (at this point) are
students who thought they registered with student groups on campus,
but their names aren’t on our list,” said Michelle
Gallagher, a graduate student in philosophy who was volunteering at
a polling station. She said the provisional ballots outnumbered the
regular ballots.

But Macheski reported incidents where students were either
discouraged from or denied the option of casting provisional
ballots at the poll-watching sites. She also said a coalition
member was told by a county official to not bother when she
attempted to vote.

Poll watchers and students reported long lines of people waiting
to vote ““ Macheski said at around 4 p.m. 52 people were
waiting in line at De Neve, while six were present to vote at the
Rieber Fireside Lounge.

Student voters also cited problems at the polls. Marissa Lee, a
third-year English student, said she did not receive her absentee
ballot in the mail and had to vote on campus. She said the line
took 20 minutes ,while others reported waiting half an hour to
vote.

While provisional ballots may not have been counted yet, Chavez
said qualified voters will have their ballots counted.

“The first thing we do (after receiving the ballot) is
ensure the voter is eligible to participate,” she said.

Park and other student officials said they believe the
poll-watching has brought up issues that the coalition aims to
avoid for the 2008 election.

“The county is not doing everything they can to get
students to vote,” she said. “There’s a lot of
glitches on their end.”

Nick Low, a second-year civil engineering student who
volunteered at the polls, said he observed that some students were
having trouble voting.

“Students said they are confused and are not sure if
(their votes) will count,” Low said.

But Chavez said eligible voters will have their ballots
counted.

“Our office would never disenfranchise voters,”
Chavez said.

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