Polling Places

THIS MESSAGE is to all new voters: You've simply wasted your time registering to vote if you don't follow through today and actually vote. Don't be discouraged by long lines, the weather or people at your polling places handing you information and telling you who to vote for. The polls are open all day, so if you see long lines, either wait it out or go back later in the day. Politicians make decisions in your name that affect your life...

At their final preelection meeting to determine polling-place locations, Philadelphia's city commissioners yesterday refused a last-minute Republican effort to move 63 polling places, most in heavily minority neighborhoods. The commissioners - two Democrats and a Republican - ruled that the GOP petitions were turned in too late to be considered at yesterday's meeting. The petitions were delivered late Friday, and ordinarily, motions to relocate polls must be publicly posted for five days before a hearing.

An independent organization that monitors city elections is investigating whether the winner of Tuesday's special state legislative race violated the state's election code. The nonpartisan Committee of Seventy yesterday said it was looking into allegations that Democrat Cherelle Parker was campaigning inside polling places. The committee cited five instances where potential campaigning occurred and said the allegations had been referred to the District Attorney's Office. Parker - who triumphed over two challengers to represent the 200th House District in Northwest Philadelphia - yesterday denied any improper campaigning occurred.

IFOUND a great deal of indignation but a greater lack of common sense in John Baer's column "Roaming Poll Watchers: Why?" For those of you who have never seen a Philadelphia election up close, here's how it works: One party (the Democrats) has thousands of paid workers manning the polls, standing watch over the voters coming and going, and handing out literature to folks coming inside. The other party (the Republicans) has a handful of poll workers, who, by law, can only watch the polls at one place, leaving hundreds of polling places with only one party watching over the activity.

ONE WHIFF of this phony flap about polling place locations tells you all you need to know about how troubling Philadelphia voters are for the Bush campaign. In a sudden wave of concern for the sanctity of polling places, President Bush's Pennsylvania campaign has filed a last-minute attempt to move 63 polling places. All but four are in heavily minority precincts and all 63 are in heavily Democratic divisions. And to blunt reaction from people who might suggest that race was a factor in this backdoor move, they used two little-known black candidates as the out-front advocates for this little ruse.

As insurgents seek to disrupt Iraq's first-ever free election with threats and violence, the U.S. troops who occupy the country are gearing up for what must rank as one of history's biggest security challenges: protecting voters from attack while staying a polite distance from polling places. The troops know they cannot stop individual killings - eight election workers have been reported slain by insurgents in recent weeks, along with the usual allotment of "collaborators" - but their goal is to prevent the kind of attacks on polling places that could cause mass casualties and seriously disrupt the Jan. 30 balloting.

In just months, Philadelphia could boast the latest touch-screen voting technology. Or the city could be that much closer to a day when its polling apparatus sputters out. Until last week, bragging rights seemed assured. Now a lawsuit on behalf of disabled voters challenges the city's years-long effort to modernize its voting machinery. Nine disabled city residents represented by a national disabilities' rights group make what appear to be straightforward demands: The city should "commit to a date by which all polling places will be made accessible.

Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham said yesterday that she would have a team of prosecutors and detectives standing by today to respond to any reports of Election Day shenanigans. "If anybody feels that they have been improperly interfered with," Abraham said, "we will be here, obviously, all day. We have mobile units. We have detectives. We will prosecute anybody who violates another person's right to cast their ballot free of fear, intimidation or improper conduct.

Two City Council races are headed for a photo finish and some judicial contests will remain in doubt for days, but Frank Rizzo's narrow win in the GOP mayoral primary seemed secure as the city's official vote count began yesterday. At three hearing rooms at the City Commissioners' offices, election workers read the official election results for polling places in nine of the city's 66 wards amid intense interest generated by discrepancies in unofficial returns last week. The process continues today, and may take another week to complete.

Philadelphia election officials yesterday sought to downplay worries that a federal judge's order for strict compliance with the state Election Code, and a criminal investigation into electoral abuses, would frighten some poll officials into staying home today. Frederick L. Voigt, executive director of the Committee of Seventy, a nonprofit group that monitors elections, said that preparations appeared to be going ahead as usual and that he expected no serious problems. "I suggest that we treat this calmly, treat it routinely, go vote," Voigt said at a news conference.