Judge's order in St. Louis was unfair

Circuit Court Judge Evelyn Baker issued an order Election Day to keep the polls open in St. Louis an additional three hours than the rest of Missouri, an order in effect for only 45 minutes before a state appellate court overruled her. She issued the order, she said, because long lines at the voting machines, caused by technical difficulties, had deprived some residents of the right to cast votes.\nWhile Judge Baker might have had good intentions, her order might have unfairly affected a tight Senate race in that state.\nSen. John Ashcroft, a Republican, lost his re-election bid to his Democratic challenger, the late Governor of Missouri, Mel Carnahan, by 49,000 votes, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Nov. 8. Carnahan's widow, Jean, will fill his seat in the Senate.\n Judge Baker's order to keep the polls open in St. Louis, a heavily Democratic city, might have padded the margin.\n Republicans there have threatened a lawsuit, but Sen. Ashcroft, gracious in defeat, called on them to end any effort to overturn his loss, saying, "I believe the will of the people has been expressed with compassion. The people should be respected and heard," the Post-Dispatch reported.\n Of course, Judge Baker might have had the voters' best interests in mind -- not those of the Democratic Party -- when she issued the order. After all, a Republican, former Gov. Christopher S. Bond, now a senator, appointed her.\nTechnical difficulties should never cause problems with the voting process. Although preparing an event in which millions participate is difficult, officials and organizers have years to work out all the kinks. Everything should be ready for the people on the second Tuesday in November.\nIn this age of voter apathy, with its 50 percent turnout rates, giving every person who wants to vote the opportunity to cast a ballot is by no means an underhanded, partisan maneuver. Voting should be a simple and enjoyable event in every citizen's life. By all reports, voting in St. Louis was neither, and Judge Baker tried to make amends with the only means at her disposal.\nBut for fairness' sake, voters in a single district should not be afforded an extra opportunity to vote while the rest of the state sits by and watches.\nIf voters in St. Louis were having problems and something needed to be done, the voting times should have been extended statewide. It would be the only fair resolution state officials could offer, and the only solution that wouldn't give one party an advantage.\nRepublicans in Missouri have a right to be mad. But if everyone in the state had been given that extra 45 minutes to vote on Election Day, they wouldn't be able to claim the order was unfair.