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Jet, July 23, 2001

Congressional districts nationwide with a high percentage of low-income voters or minorities were more apt to have their voters' ballots discarded in the 2000 presidential election, according to a recent report released by the minority staff of the House Government Reform Committee.

Overall, the study, which reviewed 40 congressional districts across 20 states, found that 4 percent of all ballots cast in the low-income districts were not tallied for the presidential race, compared with 1.2 percent in the higher-income districts.

In essence, votes for president in low-income high-minority districts were more than three times as likely to be discarded as those in affluent, low-minority districts.

In two low-income districts about 1 in 12 ballots were not counted in the presidential race, while the lowest error in one of the more affluent districts was 0.4 percent.

In addition, the report noted that the disparities in vote counts between low-income and wealthy districts were reduced in areas with newer voting equipment.

Moreover, non-minorities in more affluent districts with modern voting machines, were much less likely to have their ballots thrown out.

The report is the first comprehensive nationwide examination of voting patterns and error rates. It shows that what happened in Florida last year was not an isolated incident.

The study builds on earlier analysis of Florida and elsewhere that documented higher rates of discarded or uncounted ballots in minority or low-income areas, as well as an earlier report by minority staff of the House Government Reform Committee that showed the beneficial effect of introducing upgraded voting technology in Detroit.

Last month Mary F. Berry of the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights suggested that the Justice Department probe extensive voting problems in that state following voter disparity in last year's presidential election (JET, June 25).