No abstract

Racial bias in election administration-more specifically, in the interaction between poll workers and voters at a polling place on election day-may be implicit, or unconscious. Indeed, the operation of a polling place may present an "optimal" setting for unconscious racial bias. Poll workers sometimes have legal discretion to decide whether or not a prospective voter gets to cast a ballot, and they operate in an environment where they may have to make quick decisions, based on little information, with few concrete incentives for accuracy, and with little opportunity to learn from their errors. Even where the letter of the law does not explicitly allow for a poll worker to exercise discretion, there is a strong possibility that unconscious bias could play a role in poll worker decision-making. Wihether a poll workers' discretion is de jure or de facto, the result may be race-based discrimination between prospective voters. This Article addresses how unconscious bias may play a role in the interaction between poll workers and prospective voters and discusses some ways in which the potential for unconscious bias to operate in America's polling places may be mitigated.

Perhaps no strategic planning model has generated the controversy that PIMS has. Although some of the critics' charges may be justified, the authors find that the model is still valid and extremely valuable.

Voter identification laws that require most prospective voters to present government-issued photo identification as a condition of casting a countable ballot continue to be an enormous issue in legislatures and courtrooms across the United States. The 2012 Presidential election cycle featured the high-profile adoption of and litigation related to photo identification laws from Pennsylvania to Texas to South Carolina. 1 The 2014 mid-term election cycle featured passage of new photo identification laws and litigation from Tennessee to Wisconsin to Arkansas to Virginia to Kansas to Texas (again!). 2

Over 15 years of production and injection history within the Al Shaheen Field has provided more details on the reservoir heterogeneities and performance of extended reach horizontal wells. This additional data, along with the lateral extent of the reservoirs, has increased the need for longer and more selective horizontal completions. Three primary reservoirs have been developed to date and have different requirements regarding liners and completions. The commonality of all reservoirs is the requirement for long liners and completions in vertically shallow horizontal wells. As the completion philosophy has changed, new approaches have been developed for both deployment and selective isolation. A number of case histories are discussed to illustrate the evolution of the completion requirements. Modifications to zonal isolation, mud over air floatation, and remote triggered packers are some of the cases discussed. Two of the three reservoirs require acid stimulation to improve the production and injection performance of producers and injectors. Effective stimulation can not be accomplished through what would be considered typical placement techniques, due to the extreme lateral departure of these wells in shallow vertical reservoirs. Two techniques used are described along with some issues regarding hole-geometry in acid stimulated wellbores. The paper concludes with some future requirements for the further development of the Al Shaheen Field. Increased selectivity and the need for active zonal control will push the completion requirements beyond where they are today. New completion concepts are being actively researched and developed so that the reservoirs can be optimally managed.