We had the fewest complaints about that this year, down from 1996. In addition, Poucher points out, N.C. law provides for provisional ballots, which must be offered to every voter who encounters an administrative problem at the polls, and which are verified after the election. Instead, poll workers were instructed to phone the central office to confirm problem registrations, a plan that quickly broke down as phone lines got clogged. No one knows the exact number of legitimate voters who were denied a chance to vote, or the number of illegitimate voters who snuck in unchallenged, because of the breakdown of the system for checking registrations in Florida. But it appears that many poll workers either didn't know or didn't care to offer affidavit ballots - especially to new and minority voters.
Precinct officials are the most critical link in elections, and they're also the weakest link.
Often, poll workers are drawn from the ranks of Democrat and Republican party faithful. He'd like to see broader use of the state's community college system in training as well. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Eason Publications, Inc. is prohibited.