[Mintwood-place] Election Snafu Points Voters to Wrong Polling Places

[Heymann, Alan (COUNCIL)]

(The following is a message from Councilmember Graham)

Election Snafu Points Voters to Wrong Polling Places

Dear Friends,

I must call your attention to an urgent matter. Many District voters could
be headed for the wrong polling places next Tuesday because of a botched
mailing.

Please take the time to find your correct polling place (using the
instructions below in bold) and spread this message to as many people as you
can.

Here's what happened, to the best of our understanding.

Last week, a vendor for the DC Board of Elections and Ethics mailed voter
information guides to all registered Democrats in the District. This guide
contained a list of polling places - with the boldface instruction that "You
must vote at your assigned polling place for your vote to be counted." 

These voter guides went out with each voter's precinct number on the mailing
label. But the precinct numbers were wrong for a great many voters,
including mine. This is outrageous. I know I'm not supposed to vote in Foggy
Bottom. But how many voters will take the Board's instructions for true?

The Board put out a statement last Friday saying it couldn't reach the
vendor, Toucan Printing and Promotional Products, Inc., to find out why this
happened. This isn't the first time. In 2002, the Board sent 200 registered
Ward One Democrats to polling places in Ward Two. In 2004, the voting guides
arrived at many homes after the D.C. primary.

When the Council comes back from recess, I will call for the Committee on
Government Operations, on which I serve, to conduct an investigation. In the
meantime, the Board says it will mail postcards with the correct polling
place to all registered voters. Here's hoping the postcards are correct,
that they arrive on time, and that they're not ignored in favor of the
incorrect voting guides.

If you have any doubt as to your polling place, please visit the "Find Your
Polling Place" page at http://www.dcboee.org/voterreg/ppl_step1.asp. Or, if
you'd like, please feel free to call my office at (202) 724-8181. My staff
would be happy to look up your polling place for you.

And don't forget to vote!

Bests, Councilmember Jim Graham 





Alan Heymann
Director, Communications and Constituent Services
Councilmember Jim Graham
aheymann at dccouncil.us
www.grahamwone.com