Lawyers on standby as voters take to polls

Long queues and lawsuits are likely to feature as the US takes to the polls today.

With predictions of the highest turn-out in recent history, some 136 million people are expected to cast their ballot.

But with some states experiencing problems with touch screen systems and others expecting unprecedented numbers of voters, thousands of lawyers are on standby in case things go wrong.

The good news is there will not be a rerun of the “hanging chad” fiasco of 2000.

In that year’s election, the result between George W Bush and his democrat opponent Al Gore was delayed as a result of legal wrangling in the Florida courts.

For weeks, the US and much of the wider world seemed to be obsessed with the validity of “pregnant”, “swinging” and “hanging” chads – punched holes in voting slips.

In the end, the US Supreme Court stepped in to end a series of recounts and decide the election.

This time around, “chads” will not be an issue with the hole-punch system having been binned.

But problems do remain. Faults have been recorded in the touch screen electronic voting favoured in some key battlefields, including Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Moreover polling booths face the logistic problem of getting tens of millions of voters through their halls.

It is expected that at least 60% of eligible voters will do their civic duty and head to the ballot booths.

Some psephologists are suggesting that overall turn-out will top the 64% recorded in the fiercely competed 1960 John F Kennedy v Richard Nixon run off.

It could even beat the 66% turn-out recorded in 1908.

Once population increases have been factored in, the raw number of people voting is likely to near 140 million – the highest recorded in US history.

Robert Worcester, US election specialist and founder of pollster MORI, said: “It will be the biggest turn-out ever. But it is not just that, you also have the problem in a few states of ’flipping’ with machines – in which if you vote for Obama it flips to McCain.

“It is only a few machines but it will cause problems, and also legal challenges.”

Not all states are favouring the new technology, with others relying on more traditional pencil marked ballots.

But these too could come under scrutiny, with small mistakes by the voter potentially leading to ballots being spoiled and disregarded.

The high turn-out expected could see results delayed as booths are forced to stay open longer than expected to accommodate numbers.

Worcester said: “There are 5,000 lawyers recruited around the US on standby in regards to long queues – to file suits to a judge to get polls to stay open so that everyone can vote.”

But the problems are not expected to lead to a return of the problems experienced in Florida eight years ago, the expert predicted.

“We will not go back to that. But there certainly will be thousands of legal challenges. None of them will come anywhere near to overturning this size of lead,” he said.

Worcester added that the legal challenges were likely to be thrown out “at the first judicial review”.