By Prensa Latina,
Washington : Officials and experts in the US elections have predicted problems during the upcoming presidential elections, due to some changes in the electoral register and technology.
According to The New York Times, “with millions of new voters heading to the polls this November and many states introducing new voting technologies, election officials and voting monitors say they fear the combination is likely to create long lines, stressed-out poll workers and late tallies on Election Day.”
In addition, with Senator Barack Obama’s candidacy expected to attract many people who have never encountered a voting machine, voting experts and election officials say they are worried that the system may buckle under the increased strain, the newspaper added.
“Election officials are unanimous in their commitment to ensuring every eligible American’s right to vote, but in many places the system they oversee simply isn’t designed to handle anywhere near the number of voters that may turn out,” said Doug Chapin, director of electionline.org.
In several states, many are trying to ease the strain of Election Day by encouraging voters to cast their ballots early, said The New York Times.
In areas like New Jersey, New York and California, authorities are having trouble to hire poll workers, as they lack funds to pay them, so they have resorted to recruiting high school students, the newspaper added.
“Allocating enough ballots and machines is a tricky science under any circumstances, but especially when turnout is proving to be so unpredictable,” said Tova A. Wang, vice president for research at Common Cause, a voting rights advocacy group, who was quoted by the publication.
All these factors must cause the vote-counting process to take longer, agreed the experts, who said the success of the November elections would depend on the number and quality of poll workers, as well as officials’ capacity to prevent the unexpected.