New Orleans vote raises fairness issue
By Leslie E. Gerwin and David C. King | April 18, 2006

NEW ORLEANS will vote for a mayor on April 22, but with many of the city's citizens temporarily scattered out of state in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana's election infrastructure is proving antiquated, dilapidated, and unfair. If the election proceeds as planned, the winner will be chosen by a minority of residents determined by the luck of location, race, and economic status.

The fundamental problem is that voting in the United States is not a constitutional right; rather voting is a reward for successfully navigating a complex bureaucratic maze. Contrast that reality with the one in Iraq. During the recent Iraqi national elections, Iraqis as far away as Los Angeles were allowed to vote. These expatriates waved their purple thumbs in celebration, while displaced citizens of New Orleans are wringing their hands in frustration.

Voting, the United States assured Iraqis, is a basic right. However, US officials have no legal obligation to ensure that citizens displaced from their homes still have a meaningful opportunity to cast their ballots.

The US Supreme Court reminded us in Bush v. Gore that there is no federal constitutional right to vote. Government officials are not held to a legal standard of effort, such as a maximum feasible initiative, to ensure that citizens can cast ballots. While the Constitution prohibits election officials from discriminating against would-be voters on the basis of race and gender, these prohibitions do little to inspire concerted efforts to reach potential voters. Only about half of eligible voters participate in national elections, thanks partly to cumbersome and unnecessary election rules. The April 22 turnout in New Orleans may be more embarrassing.

New Orleans needs good leadership, yet tens of thousands of eligible voters will not even receive ballots for the upcoming election. Election officials have tried to notify eligible voters, but the whereabouts of many voters are unknown. Those seeking to vote by absentee ballot must first decipher rules for requesting a ballot and then depend on the US Postal Service, which is barely operational in parts of New Orleans. Worse, Louisiana is one of five states still requiring people who register by mail to appear in person when voting.

New Orleans offers America a laboratory for democratic experimentation. Located in a state noted for electoral corruption, the city offers the opportunity to develop a strong political infrastructure. What is required?

First, Louisiana officials should set up polling places in major metropolitan areas where New Orleanians are temporarily housed. The technology to accomplish this is already in place in Houston, where thousands are living, thanks to the work of Hart InterCivic, a Texas-based voting machine manufacturer. The federal government should have allowed the April 22 elections to be delayed for a few months while similar systems are placed elsewhere.

Second, New Orleans needs to embrace a new representative model for its City Council. Current district boundaries are based on the 2000 Census. This mocks the concept of ''one person one vote" because entire neighborhoods are now empty. One fair solution is not to divide the city into districts. All candidates should run ''at large" with voters being able to cast more than a single vote. This will allow communities to vote their interests as well as elect candidates that are responsive to the entire electorate. New Orleanians should be allowed to choose a new representative democratic model, choosing from among the many approaches that are used across the United States and around the world.

Third, Louisiana should abolish the requirement that folks who register by mail have to appear in person when they vote for the first time. Forty-five other states have better approaches, and the Louisiana system is particularly onerous for college students who cannot cast their first vote by mail while they are away at school.

Finally, America should learn from Louisiana that all citizens deserve a constitutionally guaranteed right to vote. Barriers to voting, which arepervasive throughout the United States, should be eliminated. Let's start in New Orleans.

Leslie E. Gerwin is a student at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School. David C. King is the associate director of Harvard's Institute of Politics.

I like the second point.

As far as letting dislocated persons vote, doesn't FEMA have solid records on who intends to come back, and haven't they even checked IDs on people before giving them their checks?

All you have to do is use the FEMA list to send out absentee applications to everyone. They can have their ballots sent anywhere they like. Since FEMA should know that a person is who they say they are, you don't even need to worry about the "show up in person" requirement for first time voters.