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DMN - Collin County judge says "vote center" system may have contributed to long lines on election day

Link: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/110410dnmetcollinglitch.1f3db7fba.html

November 3, 2010
By ED HOUSEWRIGHT / The Dallas Morning News

read this story at DallasNews.com

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Commentary: Just for the record, vote times in excess of an hour were reported as early as 3 pm at high traffic locations such as the Allen Municipal Courts building, Christ United Methodist Church and Harrington Library in Plano, Renner-Frankford Library in Dallas and the Murphy Municipal building -- while other locations had minimal wait times.

It was not just last-minute voters who experienced long lines, as many Collin County voters who waited hours to vote, some outside in the rain, can attest. Unknown is how many voters were discouraged and left polling locations due to the long lines.

The Wait Time indicators on the County Elections website seemed to be updated for some locations, but not for others. At one point in the late afternoon, the indicator for Ford Middle School in Allen showed no wait when exiting voters were reporting waits of 90 minutes. A few miles away, voters at Suncreek United Methodist Church also waited 90 minutes as the online system showed a 15 minute wait.

Other than the indicators on the county website, there did not appear to be any system in place to advise voters in long lines that other nearby locations had significantly shorter lines. For example, while voters waited in a 90 minute line at Renner-Frankford Library in Dallas, lines were negligible at Rose Haggar Elementary School, half a mile away.

As frustrating as this experience was for so many, it was positively inspiring to see the long lines of voters so determined to cast their vote that they were willing to wait for an hour or more, particularly those who did so standing in the rain. They should be commended for their dedication, and we can hope that those who didn't vote at all will be encouraged by their example.

angellsmith

This entry was posted on November 3rd, 2010 at 10:53:54 pm and is filed under News Clippings, Politics, Elections.

2 comments

Comment from: Thom Baird [Visitor] Email
I read one story of a voter who showed up at the polls at 6:45 p.m. and was upset that it took until 9:20 p.m. to reach the voting machine. This voter was upset. Why? Everyone had over two full weeks to vote prior to election day and on election day the polls opened at 7:00 a.m. If you wait until the last minute to vote, you have only yourself to blame. Grow up and play in the real world.
11/04/10 @ 11:47
Comment from: Chuck Bloom [Visitor] Email
Every election has stories either about voting problems in Collin County or problems/delays in reporting totals. However, nothing is ever done about it, no one ever is called on the carpet about it (especially in the Elections office) and no proper solution is ever reached.
Wonder why...
11/04/10 @ 12:22

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