On November 9, 1998, the following letter was sent to the Austin American-Statesman in response to flawed analysis in an editorial about election return delays. It is published here as a public service and to call attention to the continuing failure of the Austin American-Statesman to publicize polling places and elections sufficiently.

Here's the real story from one polling place (Summitt Elementary) that reported late. Far more voters than usual voted on election day instead of during early voting, and they turned out most heavily at the end of the day. All day, voters took longer than usual to vote because they had two long ballots. For the large election day turnout, the usual number of voting booths was inadequate. Lines started getting long around 5:30 PM, and when polls closed at 7:00 PM, 110 voters were in line. Election workers researched and documented every step, including some very complicated situations, to ensure that every eligible voter arriving on time to vote got to vote. We finished the job at the polling place at 9:30 PM and left to deliver the ballot box, proud of a job well done and unimpaired by Nazi frogmen.

The American-Statesman bears some responsibility for low turnout during early voting and the consequent delays on election day. When early voting started October 17, you published the dates, some sketchy information about a few sites, and a telephone number to call instead of a convenient list of sites and times. The recording took a while to listen through and did not include any information about mobile voting locations and times. Many voters said on election day that they had intended to vote early but had trouble finding out where before the deadline. On election day, voters accustomed to voting early arrived where they had last voted on an election day only to find that because of precinct boundary changes, they had to vote elsewhere. Many arriving in the final minutes discovered they had run out of time to go to the correct polling place.

Please put your reporters' wait into perspective. Results of the two elections held on the same day were complete in far less than twice the usual time for a single election. Dana DeBeauvoir, city officials, and election workers deserve thanks for successfully combining two elections to reduce costs and voter inconvenience. Please do a better job next year of informing voters when, where, and how they can vote: publish early and mobile voting locations, times, and requirements before voting starts and every day during this period; publish dates and requirements for voting by mail every day during the eligible period; and publish polling place lists and precinct maps several days before and on election day.

Thank you.

Reuben L. Leslie, Jr.
Election Judge, Precinct 259
837-6181

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