Here’s an interesting way one Arizona city is dealing with early voting and provisional ballot problems, at least in their city elections. The city council of Phoenix has approved an election plan that would essentially eliminate the need to designate polling places during local elections. The plan is currently being reviewed by the Department of Justice and is expected to go into effect with the next mayoral election in 2011.
Noting a heavy reliance on mail and early voting in local elections, the “Voting Center Proposal” is a plan to do away with the 128 election precincts Phoenix currently has, and create about 26 different “voting centers” throughout the city. This new plan would allow a resident to drop off mail ballots at a voting center, or cast a ballot on Election Day instead. Unlike voting at polling places, voters would not be limited to the one location near where they live. Voters could vote at any Voting Center that is convenient, whether close to home, work, or other activities.
Voting Centers would be located on main streets and transit routes and in business and shopping cores. The plan’s website states that reducing the number of locations means that only the best locations and most qualified election workers could be used.
One advantage of this plan is that it would effectively eliminate the problem of provisional ballots being thrown out because they are cast outside of the voter’s assigned precinct. Since voters can vote at any location, provisional ballots would be necessary only when voters lack the required identification or need to update their registration.
Another major benefit the plan’s supporters are touting is cost. Because of the significant reduction in the number of locations and workers required, officials say the Voter Center plan would reduce election costs by an estimated $250,000.
Qustions have come up, however, about how effectively 26 voting centers could serve the fifth largest city in the United States. However, according to the City, the plan “responds to needs and preferences of Phoenix voters,” as the culture of early voting in Phoenix for city elections is reportedly significant, with more than 95 percent of all ballots cast in the May 2008 election being cast by mail.