The nonpartisan Election Protection voter hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE received more than 2,000 calls from 12 states on Super Tuesday last week. Hearing from voters all over the county, volunteers helped provide information and assistance on multiple issues, ranging from poll worker misinformation to voter ID problems. Project Vote staff members volunteered to answer calls leading up to and on Super Tuesday, utilizing their expertise and www.Electionary.info to assist voters.
Here’s what they had to say about their experiences:
“One of the best perks of my job is volunteering with Election Protection, because I love helping people navigate the voting process. Unfortunately, I know that every election season, I’ll get calls from people who can’t vote. This election was no exception. I spoke to people who were disenfranchised because they moved and were not offered voter registration services by the DMV, as required by the National Voter Registration Act, as well as people who were disenfranchised because emergency absentee voting is not available in their state. It’s a frustrating but important yearly reminder that our work is not yet done.” – Michelle Rupp, Election Counsel and Assistant General Counsel
“It’s really important that as part of Election Protection, we can provide help when things like this happen. Otherwise voters really wouldn’t have anywhere to turn.”
Michelle Kanter Cohen,
Project Vote
“One call I took was from a voter at a polling place in Georgia, where the poll-workers were telling people to leave and come back because of long lines. A lot of voters got out of line and left as a result. It’s really important that as part of Election Protection, we can provide help when things like this happen. Otherwise, voters really wouldn’t have anywhere to turn.” – Michelle Kanter Cohen, Election Counsel
“Electionary was instrumental to Election Protection’s efforts to help voters successfully cast a ballot on Super Tuesday. Practically every question I received from callers about their state’s voting requirements had an answer in Electionary. With additional state voting guides being put on the Electionary website regularly, voters across the entire country will soon reap the same benefits.” – Stephen Mortellaro, Election Counsel
“I was happy to volunteer for Election Protection on Super Tuesday. The Election Protection Hotline is such an invaluable resource that really does help ensure that many people can vote who might not be able to without assistance. For example, a number of the states holding elections on March 1 had special procedures and locations that were different from a general election because these were primary elections. We were able to help folks sort through the confusion and get them the correct information so they could vote. Also, in particular, I was very happy to help several people in Tennessee. In Tennessee, it is possible to vote on Election Day even if you have moved and have not updated your address with election officials, but the process is cumbersome and hard to figure out. I talked to state election officials, got an understanding what steps are needed, and was able to help several people get to the right place so they could cast a ballot on Tuesday that would be counted.” – Sarah Brannon, Director, Government Agency Voter Registration Program
Visit 866ourvote.org for more information on Election Protection efforts during the 2016 election cycle.