The Long and Short of Lines at the Polls
(C. Proxmire, Nov. 10, 2012)
People are more inclined to get online and rant and rave when they are upset about something, and Election Day brought out the anonymous commenters on websites that encourage such things. But most accounts show that the Ferndalians that came through the long lines were in good spirits. The 
longest reported waits were 2 ½ hours, which experienced voters know is common during a Presidential election.
Those who were surprised might benefit from learning more about the process, and what can be done to make it better for the next election.
Before Election Day Regional and National News media warned of long lines and informed voters of the Absentee Voter process. And television news frequently showed the lines and waits in early voting states, and at local polls throughout the country on election day, including in Grand Rapids and in the Ann Arbor Area.
In Ferndale there were some complaints that consolidating the precincts might be the cause of the lines, and there were people who showed up at the wrong location. To ease this problem, City Clerk Cherilynn Talman posted maps of the precincts throughout poll locations. The maps included street names for each precinct. The City also posted sample ballots on the walls and handed out brochures with information about the proposals for people to read while waiting. Those who showed up to vote at the wrong precinct were given a pass to allow them to go to the front of t
he line once they made it to the correct location.
In December 2011 Ferndale City Council voted to reduce the number of precincts from 9 to 7. The average number of voters per precinct is 2,300, while Michigan State Law allows up to 2,999.
Having more precincts means spending more money on poll workers, more time on election training and processing the various reports, and an increased potential for errors. Workers are paid a stipend for the day, and are on location from 6am to as late as 1 or 2am at times. Because of the long day and low pay it can be a challenge to find workers. For this election, three workers who were trained did not show up on Election Day, which caused morning time delays as workers were shifted around to compensate.
Someone else complained that there were not enough poll workers, and that volunteers to help were turned away on Election Day. Under Michigan law, workers must be signed up and reported to the state, and trained, several days prior to the election. This is why they cannot have volunteers or new workers jump in to help.
There are other specifics in the law which intentionally slow down the voting process. Checks and balances throughout the process help to protect voter secrecy and prevent confusion or fraud.
Poll workers, also known as Election Inspectors, are responsible for all of the election materials. Every voter application, every ballot, and every ballot stub must be accounted for. Because of this, the number of people allowed to fill out their application is limited to the number who can fit at the table.
Each location, by law, has only one electronic poll book. Every hour poll workers need to make sure that the poll book numbers match the numbers on the tabulator. They also have to make periodic backups of the poll book so the data in it is saved.
Sometimes there are slowdowns at the electronic poll book station. When voters are not registered in the poll book, an election inspector will take time away from their other position to call the Clerk’s office and check that person’s name in the statewide registry. 
Poll workers must also ensure secrecy. Privacy screens are located around the perimeter of the room so that voters can fill out their ballot with no one behind them. Some complain that there should be more places to vote, but because of the need for secrecy this is limited. Additionally, there needs to be few enough stations that the poll workers can reasonably monitor them all.
Backups in the line can occur at this point because not everyone votes at the same pace. Some people need more instruction than others for how to vote, particularly if they’ve not voted in Michigan before. Some people breezed through the ballot, while some people took an hour or more.
If voters have a question or a problem once they have received their ballot, two election inspectors must stop the job they are doing in order to help them. The inspectors must affirm a preference for opposite parties. For example, when someone showed up to vote at one of the precincts and did not have the ability to read, the Republican who had been assigning ballots had to stop, as did the Democrat who was instructing people on how to feed the ballots into the tabulator. They spent nearly an hour reading through each line of the ballot for the voter, while other people manned two stations each.
Each election there are inevitably some people who mess up their ballots. When this happens the person working the poll book and the precinct captain, who often is also 
doing another job, must interrupt the line to follow the state-mandated procedure for spoiling a ballot and issuing a new one. This can cause a lull in the progress in the line that those waiting may not understand
When voters are done filling out their ballots, they go to the tabulator machine. No one is allowed within ten feet of the machine while a voter feeds their ballot in, so if there is a problem an inspector stands rather far away to verbally explain to the voter what to do. If a problem is insurmountable without physical assistance, a worker from each major party must approach together to resolve it.
Because of the checks and balances built into election law, it’s easy for something relatively minor to cause a backup in the line. And when precincts are processing 80-100 voters an hour there are bound to be issues. It’s just the way elections in Michigan go.
After every election the City Clerk has a meeting with Election Inspectors to go over what some of the problems were and how things can be improved for the next election. Residents who are concerned or who have suggestions can contact City Clerk Cherilynn Tallman at ctallman@ferndale-mi.com,
One possible solution is for Michigan to institute “Early Voting,” or to allow Absentee 
Voting without having to give a reason.
On Nov. 9, Rep. Woodrow Stanley (D-Flint) introduced a bill that would establish early voting in Michigan.
“Voting is a civil right, and it is our obligation as legislators to ensure that right,” Stanley said in a press release to East Village Magazine. “This is a concept that members of both parties support. I hope that we can get this done. The research shows that early voting is common sense.
“According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 32 states and the District of Columbia now allow in-person early voting, beginning, on average, 22 days before the election. In addition, 27 states and Washington, D.C. have no-excuse absentee voting. Early voting cuts down on long lines like what we seen in Flint on Tuesday.
“Only allowing a few options for voting endangers our democracy and burdens our county and city clerks,” Stanley said. “In Flint, it took 48 hours to count absentee ballots.
In a close election, that could not only cost the city money, but cost constituents a voice. That is why I introduced an early voting bill today.”
Another bill introduced on Nov. 8 by Rep. Tim Greimel (D-Pontiac) would require the Secretary of State to implement online voter applications.
To learn more about Michigan’s requirements for conducting elections, visit the State’s page at http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,7-127-1633_11976—,00.html, and specifically this guide at http://www.michigan.gov/documents/sos/Managing_Your_Precinct_on_Election_Day_391790_7.pdf.
For more articles about elections, check out our Voter Information Section at http://oaklandcounty115.com/category/voter_info/.