Voter Turnout Already Heavy in Allston-Brighton

Polling places this morning at various precincts in Allston-Brighton all had long lines of voters snaking out the door.

Lines of around 30-50 people were observed at all precincts visited, which include Ward 22/Precinct 8, 22/9 [both top at right], 21/12, 21/10, and 21/11 [bottom at left]. The wait at 22/9 was around 15 minutes at 7:15 am.

I've never seen lines such as these in Allston-Brighton (certainly not at 7 am), where turnout is typically quite low -- 11% in the November 2007 municipal election, around 5% in the September 2008 state primary, and 32.2% in the February 5, 2008 presidential primary.

By 7:30 am, the voting machine at 22/9 had recorded 64 votes cast, far more than the 47 votes cast as of 5:00 pm on the day of the September 2008 state primary, which I estimated to have only a 5% turnout in A-B. (Boston Election Department never posted results electronically, at least that I could locate.)

Students from local colleges and universities were seen at 22/8-9 conducting an exit poll about people's election experiences -- such as, were you asked to show an ID, were you on the registered voter list, etc. Note that these exit polls are a student project, not the official media pool exit polls which also ask for whom you voted.

I spoke with, or overheard, a significant number of people who identified themselves as first-time voters at 22/8-9.

Long lines also reported over at the Jackson-Mann Community Center, which is the polling place for five precincts (Ward 21/3-7).


Free Coffee. Don't forget to stop at any Starbuck's today to pick up your free tall coffee. Just tell them that you voted today.


Image of Starbuck's logo by miskan provided through a Creative Commons license.

Election Day Tuesday

Tuesday, November 4th is a general election in Boston, which includes the offices of President of the United States, U. S. Senator and Representatives, the state legislature representatives and senators, three state ballot questions... and always a few other positions that nobody seems to have heard of.


Voter Information Guide. A good guide can be found over at the BostonZest website.

League of Women Voters (Vote411) has a thorough guide detailing everything you need to know about voting.




Where to vote? Just go to "Where Do I Vote (MA)?"

Note that a few A-B precincts changed their poll locations last year -- and I haven't heard that any more have changed this year; here's the list from last year.


Not On the List of Registered Voters? If you go to a polling place and your name is not on the list of registered voters -- but you believe that your registration may still be current -- then request a provisional ballot. You vote now, and then the elections officials will sort it all out later. First-time voters should be prepared to bring an ID with your current address on it; otherwise, bring some mailed bill (gas, electric, cable TV) with your name and address on it.

If they won't give you a provisional ballot, then call the City of Boston Elections Department at 617-635-3767 and they will "gladly assist you."


When to vote? Polls open 7:00 am -- 8:00 pm. Voters who are in line by 8:00 pm are allowed to vote, no matter how long it takes to process through the queue.


Local Election Results? At the City of Boston's Current Elections website.


Want to Blog on Your Voting Experience? Universal Hub has a website for you to enter the address where you voted and your experience with it.


How often to vote? Once per registered voter, please.


Image of optical scanner machine by .michael.newman provided through a Creative Commons license.

Councilor Tobin's Saturday Silliness

Councilor John Tobin (West Roxbury) appears to be unhappy with the turnout in municipal elections in Boston, so he has proposed to address the turnout problem by holding municipal elections on Saturdays:

“For some folks, it is the Sabbath, but we have to look at boosting election turnout,” said Tobin. “It seems like people are working longer. Polls are open 13 hours from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.”...

Tobin said holding elections on Saturdays would also encourage more students to get involved in citywide elections.

I'm far from the first person to state the obvious: Councilor Tobin has put forward a stupid idea because many religious people observe their Sabbath on Saturday. That's why we don't already hold elections on Sunday -- the founders were much more strict in their adherence to a day of rest, which has come down to us in the form of Blue Laws.

Is Councilor Tobin, whom some say is considering running for Mayor next year, afraid of the Orthodox Jewish vote? If he wasn't afraid of it before, I suspect he should be now, because I think he lost many votes just by proposing to hold elections on Saturdays. For a guy who may want to be Mayor, alienating one or more religious groups is a lousy way to start a campaign.

I can think of a number of alternative and reasonable ideas that would increase voter turnout rates for municipal elections -- but without holding them on Saturdays:

1. Synchronize the municipal election calendar to that of the Presidential and Congressional elections, i.e., to have City Councilors election on even years (2008, 2010, 2012, etc.) and the Mayor elected on alternate even years (2008, 2012, etc.). Boston municipal elections are currently on odd years, which is the obvious reason why turnout is so low.
2. Allow advance voting by mail, such as already occurs in some states. People who have difficulty making it to a polling place on the first Tuesday in November between 7 am and 8 pm have weeks in advance of that date to mail in their ballot. This requires significant advance preparation by the elections authorities, such as assembling digital scans of voter signatures, but it is forward-thinking solution that addresses many other inequities of the voting process.
   
3. Have competitive races with real challengers. The problem of incumbents rarely getting a realistic challenge for their seat means that most district races generate little or no public interest. Last fall's City Council election was a good example: Allston-Brighton turnout nearly matched that of the rest of the city, an unheard-of occurrence easily attributable to the lively contest for the open District 9 seat on the City Council. It's a nation-wide problem, not easily solved. Term limits can increase the turnover in each elected office, while publicly-financed elections can level the playing field, but neither is ever popular amongst those currently holding elected office.
4. Stop having so many special elections. Many of our elected officials just don't serve out their full terms, resulting in special elections when they vacate their seats. In Boston, last fall saw another election every week or so to fill various openings in parts of the city. People are unlikely to show up again and again if there are so many elections, and the MSM just get confused in trying to cover them all. Solutions: rewrite state law governing when special elections are required; and convince elected officials to serve out their terms (or else face 40 lashes).
   

In short, we don't have to go down Councilor Tobin's Saturday elections path. There are better ways to increase voter turnout.

And how to get more students involved in municipal elections? I can think of some off-campus houses that could serve as precinct polling places on a Saturday night -- providing free beer to everyone who votes. Please don't spill that beer onto the optical scanner!

Via UniversalHub.


Earlier: Dispelling the myth that rain caused the low voter turnout in the November 2007 municipal election.

Also: Results of a previous poll here at the Brighton Centered Blog on why people thought the voter turnout was low in that election (scroll down the right-hand column of the full webpage):

53% Media coverage was nonexistent
33% People just don't care about city elections
6% Voters were unhappy with the range of candidates
4% What election?
0% Rain, rain, rain.