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Heavily black and Latino precincts often have long lines and fewer voting machines on Election Day.

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by dc rock, Nov 3, 2014.

  1. dc rock

    dc rock Contributing Member

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    http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/minority-voters-election-long-lines-id


    "Nationally, African Americans waited about*twice as long to vote in the 2012 election as white people, (23 minutes on average versus 12 minutes); Hispanics waited 19 minutes. White people who live in neighborhoods whose residents are less than 5 percent minority, had the shortest of all wait times, just 7 minutes. These averages obscure some of the unusually long lines in some areas. In South Carolina's Richland County, which is 48 percent black and is home to 14 percent of the state's African American registered voters, some people waited more than five hours to cast their ballots.

    A recent study*from the Brennan Center for Justice suggests that a big factor behind these delays was inadequately prepared polling places in heavily minority precincts. Looking at Florida, Maryland, and South Carolina, three states that had some of the longest voting lines in 2012 , the center found a strong correlation between areas with large minority populations and a lack of voting machines and poll workers. In South Carolina, the 10 precincts with the longest waits had more than twice the percentage of black voters (64 percent) as the state as a whole (27 percent)."
     
  2. GladiatoRowdy

    GladiatoRowdy Contributing Member

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    I've never waited any longer than 10 minutes in my heavily Caucasian precinct. That's why I don't vote early, that line is regularly 30-60 minutes, I'll just go in before I put the kids on the bus tomorrow.
     
  3. tallanvor

    tallanvor Contributing Member

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    population density. Minorities usually live in more densely populated areas.

    I have no numbers to back this up, and it may not be even true. Just throwing out the first reason that comes to my brain.
     
  4. rudan

    rudan Member

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    They usually take longer to vote. I can get out within 2 mins, they probably take 10-15 mins to cast each of their votes. Count in minorities voting multiple times each, of course they are going to have longer lines.
     
  5. REEKO_HTOWN

    REEKO_HTOWN I'm Rich Biiiiaaatch!

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    Can you blow colored smoke out of your ass? I have a birthday party coming up and was thinking about hiring a new act?
     
  6. bobmarley

    bobmarley Contributing Member

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    Though funny, who knows, he may be right? ESL?
     
  7. mtbrays

    mtbrays Contributing Member
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    Let's get this straight: too dumb to vote quickly, but nefarious enough to vote multiple times and swing elections. Just like how Barack Obama's simultaneously a bumbling idiot and the cunning leader of Communist Takeover USA ©
     
    2 people like this.
  8. Commodore

    Commodore Contributing Member

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    Democrats run those precincts, ask them.
     
  9. Nook

    Nook Member

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    I don't care who is at fault.

    All I know is that no one should ever have to wait longer than 30 minutes to vote.

    The article made reference to waiting 5 hours in some cases. That is not acceptable.

    We have funding for food stamps and tax write offs....... we should be able to increase the polling locations and ease to vote.
     
  10. okierock

    okierock Contributing Member

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    What?

    I wonder what the average household income is for these areas?
     
  11. glynch

    glynch Contributing Member

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    Voter suppression by the usual suspects.
     
  12. CometsWin

    CometsWin Breaker Breaker One Nine

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    I saw a map of voting precincts in I believe it was the Miami area a few years ago because this was a topic on some show I was watching. There were twice as many places to vote in the "nicer" parts of town than in the less nice parts of town.
     
  13. okierock

    okierock Contributing Member

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    Do you think it is a voter suppression conspiracy or just a lack of leadership in those precincts?
     
  14. CometsWin

    CometsWin Breaker Breaker One Nine

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    I think it's the same kind of built in advantages that exist in all areas of society whether it's schools, roads, facilities, police protection, health care, or anything else.
     
  15. krnxsnoopy

    krnxsnoopy Contributing Member

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    Poor areas tend to have longer lines. I voted in '08 a couple blocks from Times Sq and it was a relatively painless process. Probably took 30 mins total.

    A friend of mine voted in Flushing, a predominantly Asian working class neighborhood in Queens, and it took over an hour.

    Guess what, post offices are a lot better (and faster) in nicer areas than poorer areas too, based on my experience.
     
  16. okierock

    okierock Contributing Member

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    I agree, people focus on what's close to home before focusing on others. Can you blame them?
     
  17. NewRoxFan

    NewRoxFan Contributing Member

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    Is that correct? While I think the county chair of the political parties set the number and location of polling places for primary elections, I am pretty sure general elections are handled differently. I thought either the county clerk or county commissioners court recommend polling locations.

    If the above is correct, it would seem likely that for the places in question the Republicans would have control over polling locations. btw, I have only lived in CA and TX so I could be wrong...
     
  18. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    Now this is something we can agree on, glynch. The voter ID issue in Texas keeps getting dismissed by far too many. During my life, and yours, I suspect, I've known people who never got a drivers license, didn't have a student ID, didn't have a Social Security card they could find, and weren't physically able to trot down to the county offices and ask for a new card (being 90+ years old, in one case). There are tens of thousands of Texans impacted by this law, a law the Supreme Court struck down with a ruling that "conveniently" allows this travesty to be in effect during this election.
     
  19. tallanvor

    tallanvor Contributing Member

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    The very title of the article says u have no idea what you are talking about

    Even Without Voter ID Laws, Minority Voters Face More Hurdles to Casting Ballots

    Voter ID Laws have nothing to do with it.
     
  20. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    Did you disagree with my post?
     

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