U.S. judge orders backup paper ballots in Pennsylvania
USA Today
October 28, 2008
Area: Philadelphia
A federal judge has sided with Pennsylvania voter groups and ordered election officials to provide paper ballots if half the machines break down Tuesday. The state had provided paper ballots only if all machines at a polling place broke down.
"We find that there is a real danger that a significant number of machines will malfunction throughout the Commonwealth, and this occurrence is likely to cause unacceptably long lines on Nov. 4," Judge Harvey Bartle III wrote in a 25-page ruling.
Election officials fear the change could cause chaos, because poll workers have already been trained. They had expressed confidence in the machines and said voting was too close to change procedures.
"This is a major victory for the right to vote, and it will ensure that many voters will not be disenfranchised on Election Day," John Bonifaz, legal director of Voter Action, a national advocacy group, told The Associated Press. Although the ruling applies only to Pennsylvania, Bonifaz believes that other states should take note.
Bartle heard evidence yesterday from frustrated voters, wary election officials and academics who study election problems.
"We think people will become disgruntled and leave, and maybe even take stronger action," NAACP conference president J. Whyatt Mondesire told Bartle yesterday, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported earlier.
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