Virginia Sued for Providing Inadequate Voting Machines and Resources in African-American Communities
Voter Protections Newsletter Volume 3 Issue 5
October 31, 2008
Advancement Project filed suit in federal court in Richmond Monday charging Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine and the Virginia State Board of Elections with failing to provide equal access to the ballot in African-American communities because of the lack of adequate voting machines and insufficient numbers of poll workers in those communities.
Advancement Project filed suit along with the law firm Hill, Tucker & Marsh, on behalf of the Virginia NAACP, and accused the state of violating the equal protection clauses of the Fourteen Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Advancement Project has found wide disparities in preparedness for Election Day among precincts in African American and majority White communities.
In Norfolk, the voters-to-machine ratio varies from 196 to 1 in some communities, while that ratio is 496 to 1 in other communities. In Richmond, the voters-to-machine ratio varies from 188 to 1 in some precincts to 452 to 1 in others. In Virginia Beach, the voters-to-machine ratio varies from 121 to 1 to 452 to 1.
In Richmond, in areas where more than 50 percent of the residents are people of color, there are 20 percent more voters per machine than in precincts where people of color make up less than 50 percent of the population.
In Virginia Beach, in precincts where between 25 and 50 percent of the population is comprised of people of color, the city has 11 percent more voters per precinct than areas were people of color make up a smaller share of the population.
Newport News has the same number of voting machines at a precinct with 800 registered voters as it does in precincts with almost 5,000 registered voters.
Local officials in some jurisdictions anticipate that between 80 and 85 percent of registered voters will turn out on Election Day, higher than 2004, when turnout ranged from 67 percent to 71 percent.
An analysis of available resources and turnout projections indicate that if each voter in some precincts attempts to vote, it would take 26 hours to cast ballots.
Plaintiffs are seeking an equitable remedy to ensure that the wait to vote doesn’t exceed 45 minutes.
The plaintiffs are calling on the court to require the state to offer paper ballots to voters when waits are likely to exceed 45 minutes to ensure that there’s an adequate supply to accommodate surges in turnout.
The plaintiffs are also calling on the court to extend voting hours to 9 p.m. on Election Day.
