"Obama effort helps avert poll snags; Despite long lines, few early problems arise" by Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff | November 5, 2008
CLEVELAND - If Election Day 2008 in the end produced fewer of the registration-related voting snafus that have plagued past presidential contests, the campaign of Democrat winner Barack Obama can take some of the credit.
Obama's prodigious field organization not only pulled tens of millions of voters toward the polls, but his operatives were part of a sophisticated voter education effort that operated with military precision in equipping voters with information that would help them to avoid problems when casting ballots.
Watchdog groups and partisans staffed hot-lines yesterday to take calls from around the country about any polling problems. But despite long lines and the inevitability of scattered errors and equipment breakdowns when more than 100 million Americans vote in a single day, the problems seemed of the garden variety and not systemic in nature.
Doug Chapin, an election analyst at the nonpartisan Pew Center on the States, attributed the apparent improvements over other recent presidential races to heightened preparation by election officials, poll workers, and voters, all mindful of past troubles and the intense voter interest in this election.
How about BLOGGERS? Didn't we help, too?
"I think everyone had their game faces on and were prepared, including voters, who not only knew where they voted, but were prepared to wait in line five hours if necessary to cast a ballot," Chapin said. Because of the surge in voter registrations, election watchers worried about problems at the polls for new voters whose information had to be cross-checked against other databases, such as drivers' licenses and Social Security records.
The Obama campaign made a concerted effort to inform voters of their responsibilities and rights before they went to the polls. In the past, registration-related issues caused knotty problems in Ohio, particularly in urban areas such as Cleveland and other parts of Cuyahoga County. --more--"
Yeah, that is where Bush stole Ohio from Kerry through vote suppression!
