St. Louis officials expect suit over election problems

ST. LOUIS -- A federal lawsuit was expected to be filed over ongoing concerns with polling problems in St. Louis elections, city election officials said Monday.

Negotiators with the U.S. Justice Department and the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners worked through the weekend to try and reach a consent decree that would have averted the suit, but commission lawyer Rufus Tate said the negotiations failed to produce a settlement.

In a hastily called press conference Monday, St. Louis election board officials said the proposed consent decree did not go far enough to resolve problems that turned the November 2000 general election into chaos. Tate said election officials want the Justice Department to use its weight to require a way to fund the needed measures.

"We've been made the poster child for election misconduct," Tate said. "The decree won't address election day problems. And we won't sign anything short of the solution."

Tate said the city needs an unspecified amount of funds to buy 340 laptop computers and printers -- a set for each precinct -- as well as radio and newspaper ads aimed at inactive voters, and training for election workers.

The Justice Department has been monitoring St. Louis elections over the past two years, including last week's primary.

A spokesman for the Justice Department in Washington and a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Ray Gruender said a suit had not been filed by late afternoon Monday.

Voters turned away

At issue is the city's inactive voter list. In 2000, some voters were turned away at the polls because their names appeared on the inactive list. Those voters were sent to long lines at election headquarters which could not handle the inundation of voters.

St. Louis officials said they have made strides in improving the system. But officials with the Justice Department said monitoring at last week's primary showed continuing problems. They did not say specifically what those problems were.

The city had been given a Friday deadline to sign on to a consent decree with the Justice Department spelling out ways of resolving irregularities that became evident in the November 2000 general election.