Voter Protection Resources
    By Katrina vanden Heuvel
    The Nation

    Monday 06 November 2006

    With the need for democracy promotion at home all to clear - particularly voter protection in the face of new Jim Crow-like suppression tactics - many groups are responding to the call to make the elections clean and fair. Here is a short list of Election Day resources available to voters - print it, copy it, forward it, use it. Let's make sure every vote is counted and the results reflect the will of the people.

    National Voter Assistance Hotline: 1-866-Our-Vote

    The nonpartisan Election Protection (EP) coalition - led by People For the American Way Foundation, the NAACP, and the Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law - offers this national voter assistance hotline staffed by live call center operators trained to provide state specific assistance to all voters. The services will include bilingual assistance for areas with a heavy concentration of Spanish-speaking voters. Call center operators will inform voters and solve problems on issues such as voter identification requirements, voting machine malfunctions, problems at the polling place, and voter intimidation. EP's database records such problems, allowing the lawyers to track them in real time and take appropriate action to protect the vote on Election Day - not after the fact when it's too late. EP also offers a poll location website, www.MyPollingPlace.com.

    DNC Voter Hotline: 1-888-Dem-Vote

    Voters can call this hotline with any Election Day problems that might arise and either leave a message, or be transferred to a local voter protection team in the state where the caller is registered. The hotline can also be used to find polling locations. Finally, all of the calls will be logged so that there will be a central record of voting problems as a resource for any post-election disputes. The DNC is also making Incident Report forms available beginning today at www.democrats.org/voterprotection.

    ProtectOurVotes.org

    The mission of ProtectOurVotes.org is to highlight the most serious violations as soon as they are discovered so that they are immediately available to journalists (along with reliable documentation). This is a vital resource to help shed light on Election Day injustices and take action before the election's verdict has been decided. The website also provides useful links to other partners in the Election Protection effort such as Video the Vote.

    Other Hotlines

    If you are having difficulties reaching any of the above resources, here are some other places you can turn to for help as well as to record a record of your voting experience:

    SEIU Voter Hotline: 1-877-SEIU-VOTE
    Common Cause Voter Hotline: 1-866-MY-VOTE
    Velvet Revolution Voter Hotline: 1-888-VOTE-TIP