An
Analysis by David Lush:
Primary
elections showed what’s wrong with the system
If
there’s one thing the August 5 primary elections showed
to the voting public in the Mississippi Delta, is that something
is amiss with the way the election was conducted by those
who should know better.
Election and voting snafus were reported throughout the
state but few places could compare with some of what went
on in the central part of the Delta.
Particularly disturbing to many were the outright misinterpretations
of election procedures and the misapplication of election
law, which thwarted some from voting or voting the way they
wanted to.
And if you are a Republican, you were more than likely treated
quite badly if allowed to vote at all since Democratic poll
workers controlled what went on in most precincts, particularly
in Bolivar County. Also disturbing to many voters and Republican
officials in Bolivar County was the outright refusal of
personnel in the Bolivar County Circuit Clerk’s office
to abide by the election law and provide voter rolls as
allowed for in state statutes.
What appeared to be most obvious was that voter rolls were
not up-to-date before the primary election causing many
to vote by affidavit ballot even though they’ve been
voting for many years.
The endless problems in many precincts with the primary
election created chaos, confusion and resentment with voters,
candidates and election officials — especially in
precincts where an organized group that also ran the voting
mechanisms specifically targeted certain candidates.
Numerous examples of primary election day problems have
been received by the Delta Business Journal and verified
through interviews and documented statements by affected
parties.
However, circuit clerks in Bolivar, Washington and Sunflower
counties did not return phone calls prior to press time
to comment on specific election problems and issues in their
respective counties.
One staff person in the Sunflower County Circuit Clerk’s
office, who would not identify herself, did say, “we
did experience some problems Election Day but the problems
were not out of the ordinary that one would expect. They
were handled as they were reported.” Some of the more
blatant problems in the Bolivar County primary election,
which have been verified, included the following:
• Voting machines in the county were to have been
set up to vote either Democrat or Republican. There were
not separate machines for each party. When a voter declared
at the polls what party the voter wanted to vote for, the
election worker switched a lever according to the voters’
preference — which should have locked out the other
party.
However, almost all 59 of the county’s voting machines
were set up incorrectly which allowed a voter to cross-vote.
Sign-in sheets in many precincts revealed the problems especially
on the Republican side where there was one number showing
where people signed in as Republicans but more people appeared
to have voted Republican on the official precinct tally
sheet.
• The Mississippi Election Code requires that candidate’s
names in a primary should be listed in alphabetical order.
In some instances, this was not done
• In Supervisor District 5, the incumbent’s
name was not on the ballot in one precinct prior to the
start of voting. The matter was corrected before voting
but the over sight was obvious. This was also a problem
in at least three precincts in Washington County affecting
supervisor candidates.
• Printer packs in voting machines were not aligned
properly and were not easily readable by poll workers during
the election certification process.
• Poll workers were providing too much assistance
to voters in the voting booth without the voter asking for
the assistance. Election statutes are very clear as to when
a poll worker can provide assistance. And in some cases,
the poll worker was pulling the lever for the voter.
• The names of over 200 Delta State University students,
who signed up to vote during a voter registration drive,
were not on the county’s official voter rolls on primary
election day. The names were turned into the Bolivar County
Circuit Clerk’s office well ahead of the 30-day deadline
to submit such names but were not entered into the computer
thus causing many to vote by affidavit ballot.
• Officials with the Haley Barbour for Governor Campaign
were denied a copy of Bolivar County’s voter rolls
despite campaign statutes allowing for such a request.
The circuit clerk’s office refused several requests
by the campaign staff for access to the voter rolls even
though the request was made in the appropriate time period
and in accordance with state statues. Barbour campaign officials
obtained copies of both Washington and Sunflower county
voter rolls with no problem, yet could not obtain Bolivar
County’s rolls.
• The county’s voter rolls still list people
who have deceased or moved away and, in a number of cases,
voters have been deceased for many years. Deceased names
provided to the circuit clerk’s office from the state
are not entered into the computer to update the voter rolls
on a timely basis. The number of affidavit ballots is an
indication as to the state and condition of the voter rolls.
• People assigned to work for the Republican Party
as poll workers were later told, when they arrived at the
precinct, that they had to work for the Democratic Party.
• Voters in some precincts, with addresses outside
the county, were allowed to vote by poll workers.
• Relatives of some candidates were allowed by poll
workers to assist voters in voting and actually going in
the voting booth to do so.
• Many eye witnesses reported seeing people paying
voters outside the Rosedale Court House to vote a certain
way on Election Day.
• Certain election officials in Washington County
were telling some voters on the steps of the Washington
County courthouse that it was not fair to vote for the other
party.
• Voters in both Washington and Bolivar counties reported
to county and state officials about being harassed by precinct
workers in the voting process.
One Leland voter, who was harassed, even contacted the Mississippi
Secretary of State’s office and the Mississippi Attorney
General’s office to complain on Election Day.
These examples are only the tip of the onfusing election
iceberg. Outdated voter rolls, selective application of
election laws, refusal by election officials to follow the
law and intentional harassment of voters has made this primary
election one to remember.
But that’s what some thought following previous county
elections over the past 10 years when federal poll watchers
had to come into certain precincts in the county to assure
things were done right.
This election, however, the U.S. Department of Justice declined
to send federal poll watchers to Bolivar County despite
a request by the Bolivar County Board of Supervisors.
As the November general election approaches, eyes are focused
on what will happen next with county voter rolls and the
actions of election officials.
One bright spot on the horizon is a soon-to-be organized
county voters watchdog group who may go to court to force
the county to clean up the voter rolls.
They feel this is what it will take to get the dead people
off the voter rolls so they can’t continue to vote
in county elections, or those who live out of state—like
Anaheim, Calif.—who have found a place to vote here?
It will certainly be unfortunate that it will come to a
court challenge to get those responsible for fair, honest
elections in the county to do what they’re already
being paid to do. DBJ
