Courage Campaign Exposes "Butterfly Ballot" Problem Potentially Disenfranchising 776,774 Los Angeles County "Decline-to-State" Voters
PRESS RELEASE
February 4, 2008
CONTACT:
Julia Rosen
EMAIL: julia AT couragecampaign DOTorg
Los Angeles, CA — The Courage Campaign today exposed a Los Angeles County ballot design problem that could lead to hundreds of thousands of Decline-to-State (DTS) voters not having their ballots counted.
To cast a ballot in the Democratic presidential primary a Decline-to-State voter must request a Democratic Party ballot. However, in Los Angeles County, they must also fill in an oval indicating their desire to vote for a Democrat and then mark their preferred choice for President — two ovals must be filled, not one. If the voter fails to fill in the Democratic Party oval, their vote will not be counted and they will not be alerted to the error.
This ballot issue was first reported by the AP this afternoon:
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_8165670
Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters Dean Logan was quoted in that article as saying:
“It would almost be counterintuitive for someone to miss,” said Dean Logan, the acting county registrar. “We have put this information in voter education materials, and we’ve provided real clear instructions.”
Rick Jacobs, the Founder and Chair of the Courage Campaign responds:
“Just ask the people of Florida about the role of intuition in counting votes. It’s already tough enough to vote in the Democratic primary for president. With three quarters of a million “Decline-to-State” voters in Los Angeles County, the least the county registrar of voters can do is guarantee that the ballots are accurately counted.”
Earlier Monday, Steven Reyes, a lawyer (Kaufman Downing LLP) representing the Courage Campaign sent a letter to the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters, stating:
The statute is clear: voters who have already affirmatively requested a Democratic ballot and cast a vote for a Democratic candidate, but who inadvertently fail to mark line number 6, must have their vote counted. To do otherwise is contrary to the statute. We can find no statutory basis for requiring voters to mark additional boxes to indicate that they are DTS voters requesting a partisan ballot.
The letter is available for downloading at the following
http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/-/CourageCampaignLetter.pdf
After a telephone conversation with the L.A. ROV, the Courage Campaign lawyer sent a new, follow-up letter, stating a list of demands:
Mr. Logan and Mr. Finley,I write to memorialize our conversation earlier and to outline a number of responses that your office should immediately undertake to remedy a situation that will have the potential of disenfranchising a great number of voters who are trying to navigate a voting process that is already confusing to many.
We have confirmed with your office that in fact, voters who have not marked circles 5 or 6 and who have requested a partisan ballot will not have their vote counted. We have also confirmed that the Inka-Vote system, as implemented, will be unable to tabulate their votes for President and that in effect, those votes will be lost completely.
Our client, Courage Campaign, therefore demands that the Los Angeles County Registrar-Record/County Clerk and the Secretary of State immediately implement the following:
- Distribute recorded messages from the Registrar’s office to Decline to State/Nonpartisan voters reminding them that they must fill in circle numbers 5 or 6 (the bubble stating they are voting Democratic or AI) if they request a Democratic or American Independent ballot. The notice should also inform them that failure to do so will result in their choice for president not counting. These calls should commence tonight and be distributed throughout the day tomorrow.
- Distribute press releases to the English news media and language media for those groups covered by Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act with the same message provided in item number one above.
- Instruct “rovers” and other polling place supervisors to specifically instruct pollworkers to remind voters that they must fill in circles 5 or 6 or their vote for President will not count.
- Immediately distribute public service announcements consistent with the information mentioned in item one, above.
- Permit Courage Campaign volunteers to observe the sorting and vote counting process so that we may assess the extent of the problem caused by the issues with DTS voting.
These steps are reasonable responses to the issues raised in our letter to your office earlier this morning. Once again, our client reserves all of its legal rights. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Steve J. Reyes
Kaufman Downing LLP
The Courage Campaign also launched radio ads today and Election Day as part of its “Yes, You Can…Vote for President” multi-media campaign informing California’s 3 million Decline-to-State voters of their right to vote for a presidential candidate in Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary.
The outreach campaign has already been covered within the last week by the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Politico, and the Huffington Post.
The new radio ads, starring Bradley Whitford (“Josh Lyman” on The West Wing) will air on Election Day in the Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno and Bakersfield media markets.
Whitford’s message to independent voters: If you are registered as “Decline-to-State,” you can vote for a presidential candidate in Tuesday’s Democratic Party primary. (NOTE: According to California Republican Party rules, the Republican primary is only open to registered Republican voters).
The audio is available for download at the following link and the script is below this press release:
http://www.couragecampaign.org/page/-/CourageBradWhitfordradio.mp3
“The Courage Campaign wants independent voters in California to help choose the next president,” said Rick Jacobs, Chair and Founder of the Courage Campaign. “We are delighted that Bradley Whitford again gave his time and political acumen to helping to get the message out that independents can vote on Tuesday.”
DTS voters, representing 19.4% of the electorate (1 out of every 5 voters), are allowed to vote in the Democratic primary, but they rarely participate. In the March 2, 2004, California presidential primary, only 8% of those unaffiliated voters requested a Democratic ballot.
The actual numbers are starker: About 207,000 DTS voters cast Democratic ballots for a presidential candidate, even though approximately 2.5 million were registered to vote. (1) Meanwhile, more than 3 million Democrats, or 47%, voted in the 2004 primary. (2)
In order to vote in this year’s Democratic primary, voters registered as DTS must request a Democratic Party ballot, either from their local registrar or from a polling place worker on Election Day. If they do not request a Democratic Party ballot, DTS voters will — by default — receive ballots that include only state and local initiatives.
Voters who cast their ballot at the polls on February 5 must specifically request a Democratic Party ballot from a poll worker — but poll workers are not required to inform DTS voters of their right to participate in the Democratic primary.
“Imagine walking into the polling place expecting to vote for your favorite presidential candidate and receiving a ballot without presidential candidates?” said Jacobs. “Without an information and outreach campaign, the odds are that — just like 2004 — only a handful of Decline-to-State voters will participate in one of the most significant and engaging presidential primary elections of our lifetime.”
Decline-to-State voters are the fastest growing segment of those registered to vote in California. According to Secretary of State Debra Bowen, 19.4% of the state’s voters are now registered DTS, double the number of DTS registered voters in 1992 (9.5%). Meanwhile, Democratic and Republican party registration has steadily decreased since 1992, with Democrats declining from 48.5% to 42.9% and Republicans declining from 38.9%.to 33.2%, respectively.(3, 4)
“Polling of DTS voters carries very little validity since the barriers to casting a ballot are so high,” said Jacobs. “The Courage Campaign’s mission is to educate voters and build a more progressive California. We see increasing the opportunity for DTS voters to participate in the Democratic Party primary as an important step in achieving our mission.”
- http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ror/regstats_02_17_04.pdf
- http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2004_primary/voter_stats_by_party_mar04.pdf
- http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ror/60day_presprim/hist_reg_stats.pdf
- http://www.sos.ca.gov/executive/press_releases/2008/DB08_020.pdf
——————BEGIN RADIO SCRIPT———————
“INDEPENDENT COURAGE”
:60 – RADIO – COURAGE CAMPAIGN
BRADLEY WHITFORD:
This is Brad(ley) Whitford.
On the West Wing, my character Josh Lyman was inspired by a refreshing brand of politics. Political leaders had courage and shook things up.
In 2008, independent voters are making history by shaking up the presidential primaries.
If you are an independent voter – meaning you declined to state a party affiliation when you registered — you can vote for President in the Democratic primary.
For whatever reason the Republican primary is closed. Only registered Republicans can vote there.
To vote for President this Tuesday, February 5th independent voters must request a “Democratic Party ballot.”
If you don’t request a Democratic ballot, you can’t vote for President.
Independent voters. Request a Democratic ballot. Maybe even tell a like-minded friend to do the same.
This is Bradley Whitford.
For independents voting February 5th — you may have thought you can’t make a difference in California’s Democratic primary.
I’m here to tell you: Yes. You. Can.
BRADLEY WHITFORD:
DISCLAIMER: “PAID FOR bY Courage Campaign”
—————END RADIO SCRIPT———————
Courage Campaign is an independent political committee and online organizing network empowering grassroots and netroots activists to build a progressive California. In 2008, the Courage Campaign will catalyze action to increase California’s importance in the race for the White House, hold our elected officials accountable, and block Blackwater from building a base on our border.
Rick Jacobs is the founder and chair of the Courage Campaign. He chaired Howard Dean’s presidential campaign in California. He is also the co-founder and chair of Brave New Films and a featured contributor to Arianna Huffington’s Huffingtonpost.com. Rick has a long background as an investor and senior executive. Rick Jacobs is available for interviews by calling 310-860-1307.
Paid for by the Courage Campaign