IS CALIFORNIA TRYING TO DISENFRANCHISE REPUBLICAN VOTERS?

GOPportal.com ^ | 3/5/02 | GOPportal.com

[jcsmonogram]

(Los Angeles) - On the day of one of the most hotly-contested primaries in history, Republicans are being told to stand in line in order to exercise their right to vote. This is because many precincts have more voting booths set up for Democrats than for Republicans. Sometimes up to four times as many!

"This is outrageous," said one voter outside the precinct. "There were four completely empty Democratic booths and I had to stand in line for over 15 minutes for the single Republican booth. If I'd had to wait any longer, I would have had to leave without voting, or I'd have been Click here for full story

[Outraged]

Yep, I had that problem, and some other ambiguous confusion at my polling place, in the Hollyweird area.

[broomhilda]

It's great to know there are that many more Republicans. I think the Demorats are going to be very disappointed by the numbers today. The Republicans have come out to vote Big Time!!! I am always happy to see a LARGE REPUBLICAN LINE and empty Democrat booths.

[JoeMomma]

To make matters worse, they also switches polling places on me. I went to the place I have voted for 14 years, and they told me I was in the wrong place.

Polling places are publicly-available information. Precinct lines often change due to population shifts, and therefore, polling locations change at times. Isn't it your responsibility to keep up with changes?

I've not been to the same polling place each major election year over the last few years in my locality. I can keep up. So can you.

[JoeMomma]

I am always happy to see a LARGE REPUBLICAN LINE and empty Democrat booths.

Waiting in line to vote is not the same as being disenfranchised of one's right to vote. Many people in this world would love to be able to stand in line for hours to have a voice in their government. Meanwhile, a handful of whiny California Republicans are griping that their voting line is keeping them from the office, the workout room, the coffee shop. Boohoo!

I love your perception of this -- be glad that Republicans are giving their voting booths a workout while the Dems' stay empty.

[slimer]

My mother, a registered Democrat for 50+ years, finally saw the light and wanted to vote Republican. They told her that she had to vote Democrat because that is how she is registered. She said, "I'll vote anyway I damed well please, nobody tells me how to vote". Then she proceeded to officially join the Republican Party right then and there. It was a priceless moment!

[MattGarrett]

I asked a pollster why there were 4 dem booths to 1 GOP booth at the polling place. She showed me the party stats for our precinct and there were 4 times more dems in our precinct. She said that according to law, they have to have on booth for X number in each party, therefore, in our precinct there were 4 times as many dem booths as GOP booths. Makes sense I guess.

[Maven]

I just got back from voting. There were three Democrat booths (empty) and one Republican (occupied). I had to wait to vote, and so did the two people behind me. When I mentioned this to the precinct workers, and they profusely apologized, said they, themselves, were very unhappy about it, and gave me the phone numbers to complain. It's kind of hard to stay mad at people who are agreeing with you! LOL!

Considering where I live - very liberal part of the San Fernando Valley - the reaction I got from the precinct workers was pretty surprising and rather encouraging. It was also good to see that there were four Republicans and no Democrats when I was there.

Maven