What it was like in Cleveland

What was it like to try to vote in Ohio on Election Day, if you were voting in an urban precinct?

This film gives one a good answer to that question, as it shows African-Americans in the Cleveland area dealing with long lines in the rain, poll watch challengers, and the strangeness of who was and who wasn't on the registration polls.

Many of these conditions can't be addressed in any recount or investigation of what happened -- it's impossible to gauge how many people were discouraged from voting. But it certainly gives an idea of how much this needs to be improved in 2004, whatever happens with a recount. Scenes like those shown in this video are simply unacceptable for a 200 year old democracy.