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Critical lesson from Broward County primary: three precincts ran out of ballots. The problem could be far worse in Nov. The solution: polling places must get enough ballots for 1.2 times the number of registered voters, minus the mail ballot requests. https://www.miamiherald.com/article245023585.html
The SoE’s spokesperson blamed the problem on pollworkers who failed to use a machine on site, meant for voters with accessibility needs, as a backup when the ballots ran out. But this is not an acceptable backup plan, particularly this fall, when far more voters will turnout.
Instead, election supervisors in Florida should make sure the ballots don’t run out in the first place. Ballot shortages happen more than you would think, as election officials who try to predict turnout levels get taken by surprise on election day.
Turnout varies a great deal by neighborhood, and can be affected by weather, news events, get out the vote operations, or even celebrity tweets. In November 2018, Broward County saw 61% turnout overall. But some precincts had only 46% of voters turnout, while others had 85%.
The method that voters used—mail, early, or election day—also depended on many factors. Overall, 31 percent of voters chose to vote in person, on election day, but among Hispanic voters, the number was 38 percent. And in some precincts, it was as high as 58 percent.
All of this is complicated by Covid-19! It’s going to be harder than ever to predict how many voters will turn out on election day, and in what neighborhoods. Some voters might request a mail ballot just in case, but prefer to vote in person.
Others might not receive their ballot in time to mail it with confidence that it will reach the election office by November 3rd. Some might track their ballot, discover it hasn’t been received by the morning of November 3, and then vote in person, to be safe.
That’s why, to be sure polling places won’t run out of ballots, the Brennan Center recommends that this November, polling places get enough ballots for 1.2 times the number of registered voters, minus the mail ballot requests. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/preparing-cyberattacks-and-technical-problems-during-pandemic-guide
Early voting has been popular in many parts of Florida, but when printing ballots, it’s important to be cautious before assuming high levels of early, as opposed to Election Day, voting. Voter behavior is always hard to predict, and even harder during a pandemic.
Does this mean some ballots will go unused? Of course it does. To be certain you won’t run out of something, you have to get more than you think you’ll need. Too often, those who control the budgets of election officials view unused ballots as a waste of money.
But if ballots run out, it’s voters who will pay the price.
