Page 2 - aruba-today-20200928

A2 UP FRONT
Monday 28 SepteMber 2020

Voters' poorly marked ovals could lead to contested ballots

Continued from Front "You don't want to have a person voting are easy to
situation where you have fix. Poll workers invalidate
"Potential challenges, de- one type of mark in a coun- the ballot and give the vot-
lays in results, questions on ty that is processed and er a new one.
which ballots count and counted and in another it "But now, if most people
who counts them — there isn't," said McReynolds, who are not voting with ma-
are just a lot of questions, now leads The National chines and are voting at
and that could open up Vote at Home Institute. home, they are not going
Pennsylvania to a lot of un- Safeguards built into the to have that notification,"
certainty." nation's myriad election said Larry Norden, an elec-
The group is working with systems to help voters avoid tions expert with the Bren-
election officials statewide, ballot-marking problems nan Center for Justice.
emphasizing clear and are mostly geared toward This fall, as many as three
consistent guidelines for in-person voting. Touch- in four voters could be vot-
dealing with questionable screen voting machines ing on ballots received in
marks, such as when a vot- — though considered less the mail. That means fol-
er circles a name or uses secure by cybersecurity lowing instructions care-
an X or a checkmark rather In this Nov. 19, 2008, file photo, a ballot in Rochester, Minn., with experts — do a better job fully. If voters make a mis-
than filling in the oval — or markings next to both candidates, was challenged by both the than humans in marking take, they should contact
even crosses out one selec- Coleman and Franken campaigns on the first day of the recount ballots and warning voters their local election office;
tion and marks a second. for Minnesota's U.S. Senate election. Associated Press if they try to vote twice in it may mean requesting a
While all states perform the same race. replacement ballot.
ballot reviews and have tomed to large volumes of lines, state election officials In-person voting by paper Experts point to Georgia's
rules related to voter intent, hand-marked ballots, have said it would take time to ballot typically involves fill- experience after the June
some have never seen comprehensive guidelines gather and directed The ing in an oval or box next primary as a cautionary
anything like this year's an- online detailing how to in- Associated Press to file an to a candidate's name. In tale.
ticipated absentee ballot terpret almost every con- open records request. most places, voters then During vote counting, some
volume. In half the states, ceivable way a voter could Amber McReynolds, who feed the ballots into a counties reported what ap-
absentee ballots account- mark a ballot. Procedures formerly ran Denver's elec- scanner designed to reject peared to be valid votes
ed for less than 10% of votes are in place for handling tions office, said consisten- so-called overvotes, like at- that weren't flagged for
cast in 2016. Many could markings that may be dis- cy and detailed guidelines tempting to fix a mistake by review by the state's new
see half or more votes cast puted by partisan observ- are essential. Otherwise, crossing out a name and high-capacity ballot scan-
absentee this fall. ers. counties might perform re- filling in the oval next to an- ners, which process large
Colorado and Washing- But when asked for a copy views differently, leading to other candidate. volumes of absentee bal-
ton, two states accus- of Pennsylvania's guide- further challenges. Such problems during in- lots at once.q

Appellate court halts Wisconsin ballot-counting extension

counting absentee ballots Democratic Party and al- Court of Appeals or U.S.
in Wisconsin's presidential lied groups including the Supreme Court issues any
election, a momentary League of Women Vot- further action. No further
victory for Republicans ers sued to extend the details were immediately
and President Donald deadline for counting posted by the appeals
Trump in the key presiden- absentee ballots after the court. State election of-
tial battleground state. April presidential primary ficials anticipate as many
As it stands, ballots will saw long lines, fewer poll- as 2 million people will cast
now be due by 8 p.m. ing places, a shortage of absentee ballots to avoid
on Election Day. A lower workers and thousands of catching the coronavirus
court judge had sided ballots mailed days after at the polls. That would
with Democrats and their the election. be three times more ab-
allies to extend the dead- U.S. District Judge William sentee ballots than any
line until Nov. 9. Demo- Conley ruled Sept. 21 that other previous election
crats sought more time as ballots that arrive up to six and could overwhelm
This April 19, 2010 file photo shows U.S. District Judge William a way to help deal with days after Election Day will both election officials and
Conley at the U.S. Courthouse in Madison, Wis.
Associated Press an expected historic high count as long as they're the postal service, Conley
number of absentee bal- postmarked by Election wrote. If the decision had
By TODD RICHMOND federal appeals court on lots. Day. Sunday's action puts stood it could have de-
Associated Press Sunday temporarily halt- The Democratic Nation- Conley's order on hold layed knowing the winner

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A ed a six-day extension for al Committee, the state until the 7th Circuit U.S. of Wisconsin for days..q