Provisional ballots top elections officials' concerns

MAURA KELLY LANNAN

Associated Press

31 October 2004

CHICAGO - Marilyn Mahon joined about 40 people in a stuffy basement room of the Daley Center for a recent three-hour lesson on when to issue provisional ballots to voters, how to keep intrusive poll watchers at bay and how to run a polling place.

The 76-year-old, an election judge for about eight years, was familiar with most of the instructions. But she was relieved to hear about changes to provisional ballots, which were problematic during their debut in the March primary, when only about 17 percent ended up counting statewide.

"It seems like they set it up a lot easier than last time," said Mahon, a retired 911 dispatcher from Chicago.

Elections officials across Illinois hope that by training more than 55,000 judges like Mahon they can avoid major problems on Election Day. But this year's record 7.5 million registered Illinois voters, differing interpretations of election law, and extensions for counting some absentee ballots might still cause trouble.

Several of the state's 110 election jurisdictions are still debating how to handle the State Board of Elections' recent interpretations of Illinois law on provisional and absentee ballots.

The board recommended extending the counting period for military and overseas absentee ballots for 14 days after the election if the ballots are postmarked before Tuesday. But it refused to recommend the same extension for other absentee ballots, saying the law addresses the two groups with different wording that allows the extension in one case but not the other.

The decision prompted concern among elections authorities that all absentee ballots were not being treated the same.

Since the election jurisdictions are autonomous, each can also choose whether to follow the state board's recommendations. Cook County and Chicago, for example, plan to extend the military and overseas ballot deadline; Rock Island won't because it disagrees with the board's interpretation of state law.

Officials also worry about disruptive poll watchers, supporters who campaign too close to the polls and whether voting in areas with new equipment will go smoothly.

Voters in 68 election jurisdictions will cast ballots using optical scan machines that read paper ballots with the voter's choice of candidates shaded in. The rest of the state, including Chicago and Cook County, will use punch-card ballots. None plan to use touch-screen machines.

Officials' focus this election, however, is on provisional ballots: They don't want a repeat of problems that invalidated votes in the March primary.

Provisional ballots were required nationally after the 2000 presidential election, when about 1.5 million registered voters were mistakenly turned away because of clerical errors or other problems. The ballots allow voters whose names aren't on the rolls at a polling place to still vote and have their eligibility confirmed later. But during their Illinois debut, many provisional ballots still weren't counted because they were cast at the wrong polling places.

Most election authorities have trained judges this fall to direct people to the correct precinct, and many are providing precinct maps at polling places.

"I think there was a little bit of trial and error, and there should be improvement from the March election," said Dan White, executive director of the State Board of Elections.

The board also recently recommended provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct be counted for some federal offices if the voter is later found to be eligible - despite state law that says such ballots must be cast in the proper precinct to be valid.

Federal judges have issued differing opinions in lawsuits filed in at least five states on the matter. No lawsuits have been filed in Illinois, but Rock Island County Clerk Richard Leibovitz thinks that's only because Illinois isn't a battleground state.

"If it were, I'm sure we would be right in there with Florida," he said.

More than 10,200 Illinois voters cast provisional ballots during the primary, but only about 1,700 counted, according to the State Board of Elections. In Chicago, only 416 of the 5,914 provisional ballots cast were valid; the rejected ballots included 1,294 cast in the wrong precinct and 2,461 with a missing or incomplete affidavit.

"Obviously, there were errors made by the voters and the judges," said Tom Leach, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

Chicago officials have since changed the affidavits voters must sign stating their belief they are registered. On Tuesday, affidavits will be printed on the envelope a provisional ballot is placed inside rather than on a separate piece of paper. During the primary, many of those separate affidavits were missing when officials later tried to investigate voter eligibility, rendering the provisional ballot invalid.

In southern Illinois' Madison County, officials have mailed information on polling places to every voting household and have hired more election judges.

"I expect among the not-so-frequent voters there will be some confusion, and having some extra help from the election judges will go a long way toward making things go smoothly," said Madison County Clerk Mark Von Nida.

Cook County will have a special judge at each polling place trained in the new procedures. Officials also have a Web site where voters can verify their registration and polling place.

After the troubles with the 2000 presidential election, Cook County Clerk David Orr thinks voters are going to be less willing to accept hearing that their names aren't on the rolls.

"I think the electorate is in a mood where they're not going to take 'No' for an answer," he said