'Fixing That': Lines at the Polling Place

31 Pages Posted: 23 Apr 2013 Last revised: 13 Nov 2013

See all articles by Justin Levitt

Justin Levitt

Loyola Law School Los Angeles

Date Written: July 20, 2013

Abstract

“I want to thank every American who participated in this election, whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time. [Pause.] By the way, we have to fix that.” With that ad-lib on Election Night, 2012, President Barack Obama put excessive wait times at the polls back onto the policy agenda. Lines stretched to ten hours in 2004, eleven hours in 2008, and seven hours in 2012; while most voters’ experience was relatively speedy, the system is visibly failing others.

We need not wait any longer to ensure that we need not wait any longer. This short symposium piece adapts lessons from queuing theory, long applied to private-sector customer service and public-sector transportation problems, to present a brief overview of the possible means to adjust the three primary causes of excessive bottlenecks. This short review is offered not as an endorsement of any particular intervention, but rather as the ready elaboration of a policy menu for reducing wait time.

Keywords: lines, polling place, queuing theory, elections, wait times, polls

Suggested Citation

Levitt, Justin, 'Fixing That': Lines at the Polling Place (July 20, 2013). 28 J. L. & Pol. 465 (2013), Loyola-LA Legal Studies Paper No. 2013-14, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2246973

Justin Levitt (Contact Author)

Loyola Law School Los Angeles ( email )

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Los Angeles, CA 90015-1211
United States
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213-380-3769 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.lls.edu

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