Cincinnati's NAACP leaders are seeing another story in low voter turnout in majority-black precincts.

Recently I reported that only one in three or even one in four voters showed up at the polls in many of Cincinnati's predominantly black wards, a much lower turnout than in other Hamilton County wards.

We know the obvious explanations: Mediocre turnout is typical of midterm elections; cold and rainy weather dampens people's sense of civic duty; some voters just don't care about the candidates or the issues on the ballot.

One result was that certain suburban voters were able to vote down a bond issue that would have funded new or renovated buildings for Cincinnati Public Schools.

Of course, it's a free country; people can decide to not vote. But the NAACP wants to know if choice is the only unseen hand here.

Invisible obstacles

Ishton Morton, a first vice president of the NAACP, monitored voter participation and believes that it's just too difficult for some voters to get to their polls.

In some cases, their voting locations are too far from their homes, posing an inconvenience at least. But for those without cars, who are much of Cincinnati's poor, voting is a luxury they just can't afford, Mr. Morton says.

"I think people ought to vote in their own neighborhood," he says. "This has disenfranchised the voters. ... The process has become technically discouraging to vote."

Mr. Morton has asked the NAACP's board for help in addressing the issue before the next elections.

In the last election, he says, housing developments in the Fay Apartments were split by precincts, with some voters hopping a bus or two, while others stayed on the block to vote. In Winton Terrace, the precincts were defined by odd and even addresses. So voters on one side of the street had to go a mile away to vote, while others didn't, he says.

Two years ago, the state Legislature required counties to redraw voting precincts to reflect census tracts, not proximity to voters. Precincts help determine where you vote.

Hamilton County's precincts cut some neighborhoods in half and joined others, says Julie Stautberg, director of the Board of Elections. She thinks it was a wash, though, with just as many voters liking the changes as disliking them.

It's clear the county can't redo its precincts, but it can rethink its assignment of polling places.

Go where voters are

It should increase the number of polling places in areas where census data indicate fewer cars per household or greater numbers of elderly.

That's no easy task, Ms. Stautberg says. The election board has difficulty recruiting facilities for election sites. There aren't enough community centers and churches to go around. The board has had to resort to private homes, she says.

"We have people working all the time, trying to find suitable polling locations."

The NAACP also could improve its get-out-the-vote efforts by putting as much effort into getting people to the polls as it does in getting people registered to vote.

The NAACP partners with other community volunteers to shuttle dozens of voters to the polls, but even 10 drivers weren't enough the last time around, Mr. Morton says.

The NAACP approached at least seven churches to borrow their vans and recruit drivers, but were turned down because they couldn't reimburse the costs, he says.

Next time, churches should eat the cost.

Empowering people to vote should be viewed as a mission, a tool for community outreach.

E-mail damos@enquirer.com or phone 768-8395.