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PRO & CON: Early voting causes

controversy

National controversy regarding same-day National controversy regarding same-day registration and early voting came to the Youngstown State University campus from Sept. 30 to Oct. 6.
Volunteers from Vote Today Ohio, a group that encourages early voting, was on campus to shuttle students back and forth from the university to the polls to register and vote.
Referred to as "Golden Week" by volunteers, this is the week in which early voting overlaps with the deadline to register to vote.
The Ohio Republican Party challenged this in court, alleging a high risk of voter fraud.
"Republicans are not opposed to early voting," said John McClelland, spokesman for the Ohio GOP.
McClelland said 30 days before an election has been the deadline to register for the past 30 years, and until 2005, voters needed a reason to vote absentee.
In 2005, the legislature allowed for "no-fault" absentee balloting.
"We absolutely encourage it," said McClelland.
He said Ohio's Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's interpretation of the law that allows for same-day registration was done in coordination with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign.
"Ohio law says that it is not legal," said McClelland, adding that he disagrees with the court's decision that allows for voters to register and vote simultaneously.
"That creates a huge opportunity for voter fraud," he said.
McClelland said he wants students to vote, even if they aren't voting for Republican candidates.
"Here's the problem. You're gonna have people register and cast a ballot and by the time their registration is verified, the election could be over," he said, adding, "We want the vote to be fair ... unfortunately that's not what's happening."
DeMario Cooper, a member of Vote Today Ohio, said he sees no problem with same day registration.
"It's legal. I don't think there's a huge opportunity for voter fraud," Cooper said.
Cooper said the opposition is politically motivated.
"It's just another attempt by the Grand Old Party to disenfranchise voters," he said.
Cooper said he doesn't see a difference between registering in January or on Oct. 6. He said the likelihood of fraud would be the same either way.
Cooper said he hadn't heard anything about registrations not being verified until after the election.
Paul Sracic, chairman of the political science department at YSU, said he sees two separate issues.
"I think the registration issue may be a little overblown," said Sracic.
He said the various boards of election are making efforts to verify registration to avoid voter fraud.
He said early voting is problematic, though.
"I have a problem with early voting," Sracic said.
He said he thinks it is a bad idea because it's too early and a lot of the local races haven't really begun yet.
It's one thing to know who your choice is for president, he said, but local candidates don't have the money to spend until the about three weeks before the election.
"To vote now before any real politicking has been done is kind of unfair," said Sracic.
Students had differing views on the controversy.
Karina Hudson, freshman, said early voting was a good idea "because a lot of people don't vote. However, they're very persistent. I was not aware of the early voting controversy. It doesn't make sense. I don't understand how it could cause voting fraud," she said.
Freshman Monica Graham had not heard of the controversy. However, she said "there is a good possibility that voting fraud could occur."
Sophomore Julian Curtis said the controversy makes sense.
"There needs to be a little bit of time between registering to vote and voting,' Curtis said. "They need to verify it."
GS § 163-166.8. Assistance to voters.
(a) Any registered voter qualified to vote in the election shall be entitled to assistance with entering and exiting the voting booth and in preparing ballots in accordance with the following rules:
(1) Any voter is entitled to assistance from the voter's spouse, brother, sister, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, mother-in-law, father-in-law, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, stepparent, or stepchild, as chosen by the voter.
(2) A voter in any of the following four categories is entitled to assistance from a person of the voter's choice, other than the voter's employer or agent of that employer or an officer or agent of the voter's union:
a. A voter who, on account of physical disability, is unable to enter the voting booth without assistance.
b. A voter who, on account of physical disability, is unable to mark a ballot without assistance.
c. A voter who, on account of illiteracy, is unable to mark a ballot without assistance.
d. A voter who, on account of blindness, is unable to enter the voting booth or mark a ballot without assistance.
(b) A qualified voter seeking assistance in an election shall, upon arriving at the voting place, request permission from the chief judge to have assistance, stating the reasons. If the chief judge determines that such assistance is appropriate, the chief judge shall ask the voter to point out and identify the person the voter desires to provide such assistance. If the identified person meets the criteria in subsection (a) of this section, the chief judge shall request the person indicated to render the assistance. The chief judge, one of the judges, or one of the assistants may provide aid to the voter if so requested, if the election official is not prohibited by subdivision (a) (2) of this section. Under no circumstances shall any precinct official be assigned to assist a voter qualified for assistance, who was not specified by the voter.
(c) A person rendering assistance to a voter in an election shall be admitted to the voting booth with the voter being assisted. The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules governing voter assistance, and those rules shall adhere to the following guidelines:
(1) The person rendering assistance shall not in any manner seek to persuade or induce any voter to cast any vote in any particular way.
(2) The person rendering assistance shall not make or keep any memorandum of anything which occurs within the voting booth.
(3) The person rendering assistance shall not, directly or indirectly, reveal to any person how the assisted voter marked ballots, unless the person rendering assistance is called upon to testify in a judicial proceeding for a violation of the election laws. (2001-460, s. 3.)
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GS § 163-273. Offenses of voters; interference with voters; penalty.
(a) Any person who shall, in connection with any primary or election in this State, do any of the acts and things declared in this section to be unlawful, shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. It shall be unlawful:
(1) For a voter, except as otherwise provided in this Chapter, to allow his ballot to be seen by any person.
(2) For a voter to take or remove, or attempt to take or remove, any ballot from the voting enclosure.
(3) For any person to interfere with, or attempt to interfere with, any voter when inside the voting enclosure.
(4) For any person to interfere with, or attempt to interfere with, any voter when marking his ballots.
(5) For any voter to remain longer than the specified time allowed by this Chapter in a voting booth, after being notified that his time has expired.
(6) For any person to endeavor to induce any voter, while within the voting enclosure, before depositing his ballots, to show how he marks or has marked
his ballots.
(7) For any person to aid, or attempt to aid, any voter by means of any mechanical device, or any other means whatever, while within the voting enclosure, in marking his ballots.
(b) Election officers shall cause any person committing any of the offenses set forth in subsection (a) of this section to be arrested and shall cause charges to be preferred against the person so offending in a court of competent jurisdiction. (1929, c. 164, s. 29; 1967, c. 775,
s. 1; 1987, c. 565, s. 12; 1993, c. 539, s. 1111; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)

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Markets plunge, despite bailout

NEW YORK - Wall Street tumbled again Oct. 6, joining a sell-off around the world as fears grew that the financial crisis will cascade through economies globally despite bailout efforts by the U.S. and other governments. The Dow Jones industrials skidded over 700 points and fell below 10,000 for the first time in four years, while the credit markets remained under strain.
The markets have come to the sobering realization that the Bush administration’s $700 billion rescue plan won’t work quickly to unfreeze the credit markets, and that many banks are still having difficulty gaining access to cash. That’s caused investors to exit stocks and move money into the relative safety of government debt.
Over the Oct. 4 weekend, governments across Europe rushed to prop up failing banks. The German government and financial industry agreed on a $68 billion bailout for commercial-property lender Hypo Real Estate Holding AG, while France’s BNP Paribas agreed to acquire a 75 percent stake in Fortis’s Belgium bank after a government rescue failed.
The governments of Germany, Ireland and Greece also said they would guarantee bank deposits.
The Federal Reserve also took fresh steps to help ease seized-up credit markets. The central bank said Oct. 6 it will begin paying interest on commercial banks’ reserves and will expand its loan program to squeezed banks.
Investors took a bleak view of the future, seeing no end to the crisis in the near term.
“This is a psychologically important moment that we passed below the 10,000 level,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research. “But, the issues are worldwide. The fact is people are scared and the only thing they’re doing is selling.”
In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 443.08, or 4.29 percent, to 9,882.30, dropping below 10,000 for the first time since Oct. 29, 2004. At one point, the Dow was down nearly 600.

Broader indexes also tumbled. Standard & Poor’s, the Nasdaq composite index, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies all dropped. Trading on the New York Stock Exchange was down. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 closed lower. Stock markets in Europe, Germany and France also fell.
The anxiety was again obvious in the credit markets. The yield on the three-month Treasury bill slipped to 0.33 percent from 0.50 percent late Friday. Demand for bills remains high because of their safety; investors are willing to take extremely low returns just to have their money in a secure place.
Banks’ hesitation to lend to one another and to many businesses and individuals is the result of the bad mortgage debt that the financial rescue is supposed to sweep up. But it’s still unclear how quickly financial institutions will be able to hand that debt to the U.S. government and convince the markets they are healthy again.
There has been some hope that perhaps the Fed, in concert with other central banks, might cut interest rates to help stimulate the economy. With oil prices well off their midsummer highs and indicators pointing to a slower economy, the Fed’s worries about inflation are less than they had been, making it easier to justify a rate cut.
Frederick Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co., believes investors are eager for any signs about the well being of the economy.
“Wall Street at this point is shifting its attention from whether Congress was going to act on the emergency stabilization bill to the realization that the economy is slowing significantly faster than most analysts had expected,” he said. “The downturn has shifted from first gear to about third gear in about two weeks.”
Oil prices fell to an eight-month low below $90 a barrel on speculation that the spreading financial crisis will exacerbate a global economic slowdown and further cut demand for crude oil. Light, sweet crude tumbled $3.82 to $90.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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