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ELECTION PROTECTION

In PA, over 22% of hotline calls involved problems at the polls, and nearly ¾ of the problems were from Philadelphia and Allegheny counties. Problems included long lines, late poll openings and early poll closings, access problems for voters with disabilities, and voters erroneously being asked for identification.

REPORT AN ELECTION VIOLATION

1-866-OUR-VOTE or www.866ourvote.org/

Why is Election Protection Important & Necessary?

Election Protection ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in the electoral process. Many coalitions and organizations have initiated programs to protect voter’s rights.

These efforts include (but are not limited to!);

Extending hours at voting precincts with long lines
Hotlines
Video recording what goes on at voting precincts and forwarding info to local media and government officials
Volunteering
Educating voters on polling rights
On-call Lawyers and Attorneys
The next steps to take if your name isn’t on the voters roll on election day

Who's working for Election Protection?

The National Campaign For Fair Elections

NCFFE is a partner in the Voting Rights Project coalition consisting of the Lawyers Committee, the National Bar Association, the NAACP and the People for the American Way Foundation.

Not only advocating for election reform, NCFFE hosts the 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) hotline for voters to call if they have any issue’s or questions involving the polls.
NCFFE also has a legislative initiative. The progressive organization advocates for election reform in state and local level governing bodies.

Election Reform Network
Everybody Vote
Committee of 70 (Philadelphia)
B-PEP (black political empowerment project)
People for the American way
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
VOTEPA Voting Rights and Election Integrity in Pennsylvania

PAST VIOLATIONS

According to the 2006 report from the Lawyers Committee For Civil Rights Under law, Pennsylvania constituents reported:

The hotline received 40 reports of late poll openings or early poll closings; late poll opening reports indicated that voting machines were not yet operable.
Numerous complaints were logged from voters in Philadelphia regarding poll locations that were moved without proper notification to voters and lack of signage at polling places.
Voters in Philadelphia reported long lines due to a lack of poll workers at many precincts.
Twenty-four voters reported that polling places were inaccessible to voters with

disabilities; 13 reports were from Philadelphia.

A voter in Allegheny County said “ID required” was stamped by her name in the poll book, and several others had the same stamp by their name.
One voter said she was asked to show ID even though she was not first time voter
The hotline received widespread reports of machine problems in Allegheny. Poll

workers told voters the polls were closed because machines were broken and many voters were not allowed to vote at all, even by paper ballot.

One voter called on behalf of a Spanish-speaking voter at a senior center in Allegheny County. A poll worker yelled at the voter and said it was his job to stop her from voting, and pulled her ballot from the machine.
A voter in Allegheny County was told he is only allowed to vote in Presidential elections because he is an independent.
Reports of electioneering inside polling places included: candidates pointing out their preferred candidate’s name on the ballot; campaign workers saying to vote for specific candidates, passing out literature, or hanging signs within the polling place; and poll workers passing out only Democratic ticket or Republican ticket sample ballots.

To view more of this report and information from other states, visit the page at

http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/2005website/home/images/features/FINAL_EP%20Board%20Report.pdf

The general website can be found at,

http://nationalcampaignforfairelections.org/

1 http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/2005website/projects/votingrights/votingrights.html

2 http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/2005website/home/home.html