Published: June 04, 2008
Tuesday Election Snafu Denies Ballots to Voters
Tuesday election snafu denies Peace & Freedom Party voters ballots, may influence presidential nominating convention; Party chair says a lawsuit possible
SACRAMENTO - An apparent statewide election snafu Tuesday - especially prevalent in Los Angeles and Alameda counties - denied party ballots to Peace & Freedom Party voters - and could significantly influence that party's presidential nominating convention, said the state chair today.
In at least three counties in California, Peace and Freedom Party registrants were denied ballots for their party and told to use non-partisan ballots instead, said Debra Reiger, State Chair of Peace and Freedom Party. Reiger fears that hundreds of voters, or more depending on voter turnout, may have been unable to cast ballots for party races. There are about 25,000 registered party voters statewide.
Reiger, who said the party is considering legal action, said Alameda County voters were regularly told to vote on the non-partisan ballot. Reiger reports that several districts in Los Angeles County and San Francisco County also denied the party ballots to voters.
The problem surfaced when several qualified write-in candidates for the party's state central committee were unable to get Peace and Freedom Party ballots so that they could vote for themselves. This is an especially important election to the party because people selected to the State Central Committee will also be delegates to the Peace and Freedom Party's presidential nominating convention in August, said Reiger.
The voting problem was severe and apparently systemic in Alameda County, where each precinct received two voter lists, and in each case one of the lists had Peace and Freedom Party registrants listed as "Non-Partisan." Many of the precinct workers refused to do further checking and did not allow voters to try to establish their actual party affiliations. In Los Angeles and San Francisco counties, numerous errors occurred, many of which indicate inadequate training and documentation and incomplete documentation.
The party is considering legal action, says Reiger. "Although, at this point I don't know what can be done to make things right. Our presidential candidate selection is at stake."
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