Yeah, So, We Won Ohio Apparently

I wasn't one to pay much mind to voter irregularities in Ohio in the sense that is affected the outcome of the election. I didn't think the numbers were big enough. But the DNC has some interesting findings, and it looks like the Ohio results may be questionable after all.

The following is from the introduction. Get the full text here.

Why were there so many more provisional ballots cast in Ohio than in other states of comparable size? 2.8% of all ballots cast in Ohio were provisional ballots, as contrasted with only 0.9% in PA and 0.3% in FLA.(...)

Our report concludes that more than one-quarter of Ohio voters had problems at the polls. Far more troubling, twice as many African American voters reported problems at the polls than did white voters.

Ohio voters report experiencing a wide range of problems, the most common of which was long lines. African American voters reported waiting an average of 52 minutes before voting while white voters overall reported waiting 18 minutes.

Voters also reported confusion at the polls, incompetence and negligence on the part of polling officials, problems with registration status, problems locating the proper polling place, problems with absentee and provisional ballots and unlawful identification requirements at the polls.

African American voters were far more likely to have their registration status challenged and to report experiencing intimidation at the polls than other voters. 16% of African Americans reported experiencing intimidation at the polls as opposed to 5% of whites. African Americans and voters under age 30 were far more likely to have their identification checked at the polls, very often illegally. Under Ohio law, only voters voting in a Federal election for the first time who had not provided identification at the time they registered to vote may be required to show ID at the polls.

But while only 7% of Ohio voters were newly registered and only a fraction of those new voters failed to provide ID at the time they registered to vote, 37% of voters statewide were required to produce ID at the polls, meaning that many voters were illegally required to produce identification. Fully 67% of voters under age 30 were required to produce ID at the polls, and 67% of African American males were required to produce ID in order to vote.

Counties using touchscreen machines had far more problems than voters in
other counties. The quantity of touchscreen machines varied widely from county
to county. In Franklin County (Columbus and surrounding cities), where 74% of
voters reported waiting in line more than 20 minutes) there were proportionally
fewer machines in minority neighborhoods.

The study reveals a profound lack of confidence in the democratic process
in Ohio, divided sharply along racial lines. Nearly one-quarter of Ohio voters
report that their experience in 2004 has made them less confident about the
reliability of elections in Ohio. 71% of whites reported being very confident
their vote was counted as opposed to 19% of African Americans.