Watchdog Group Says 20,000+ Phila. Voter Registrations Still Not Processed
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Members of Philadelphia's election watchdog group "Committee of 70" say they are worried about what they call a huge backlog of unprocessed voter registration applications.
City officials say not to worry.
The Committee of 70 has sent a letter to city officials voicing concern that the number of still-unprocessed registrations may top 20,000, with the election less than a month away.
Policy director Ellen Kaplan says if the backlog isn't processed by November 6th, some voters could be left in the lurch.
"So when they go to vote, thinking that they are registered, they will be told, 'I'm sorry, you're not in the book,'" Kaplan explained.
At that point, Kaplan points out, they'd have to cast a provisional ballot.
But the city official in charge, voter registration administrator Gregory Irving, is not concerned. He says the number of still-unprocessed applications is actually less than his office faced at this point in 2008.
"I got it done then," Irving says, "and I'll get it done now."
