Velda City, exposed
Voters endure a long wait in Velda City
Here’s the story: County election officials told us the Velda City polling place was supposed to get three touchscreens and eight booths for 1,195 registered voters.
Here’s what the P-D’s Elizabethe Holland saw:
Three touchscreens, two privacy booths — and about six folding chairs. In a cramped room filled with people.
Voters told Holland they heard people asking for privacy. In response, a supervisor started letting in fewer people. (Holland asked a poll worker if she could interview the supervisor, but no one talked to her.)
So the line moved really slow. As we reported earlier, it took 6 1/2 hours for some to vote.
A volunteer with the Voter Protection Coalition begged a woman, who appeared to be in pain as she walked, not to leave.
One woman told him she’d been there two hours and couldn’t handle more.
He and the other voters urged her to stay. One grabbed her a chair.
