Election Controversies and Complications

Turnout for this election is high. Very high. The vast numbers of voters flocking to polling booths has created some glitches as well as controversies. There has been a lawsuit from McCain's campaign filed to extend the deadline 10 days for counting overseas ballots because the ballots were distributed late. This has been a huge issue because it is extremely difficult to quickly transport troops' ballots overseas especially in the heat of conflict in the middle east. 

There have also been charges filed against a man in North Carolina who put anti-Obama stickers on a coffin labeled, Joe the Plumber who died from being "taxed to death." Since this was placed outside of a polling location, I feel that these charges are justified. This was not an example of free speech, it is leaning towards voter intimidation. If one is going to put up such an extreme display, make your statement from your private residence. 

In Indiana, a court decision rejecting many old voter registration forms has been challenged. The old form from 2004 contained a check box confirming that the one registering is over 18 and a United States citizen, while the new one requires a signature to affirm these qualifications. It seems to me that whether you check a box, or put down your signature, both are equally fair ways to assess these qualifications. Since you have to sign the registration form either way, it seems that whether you check a box or directly sign your name to declare citizenship and age requirements, both leave a citizen equally liable for truthfulness. 

Ohio is a hotbed for election controversies, with a case leading up to the Supreme Court. Democrats felt that Republicans were attempting to suppress voter turnout. Republicans defended that they merely wanted to discourage ineligible voters from attempting to abuse the system and vote. 5,000 Democratic lawyers were sent to Florida to monitor voting locations. The AFL-CIO sent over 500 poll monitors to "each of the battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania." The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division also sent over 800 observers to Virginia where voters had experienced ballot shortages in the primaries. I think Republicans have been smart to check and double check the registration of such vast amounts of voters in order to keep those who would be Democratically inclined out of the polling booths. However, I think it's sad that clearly eligible voters could be stripped of their voting right from a technicality.