Call 1~866~OURVOTE - The hotline is run by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and will provide Pennsylvania voters over 100 dedicated phone lines for Election Day.
Voter suppression continues to specifically target black and brown communities, the elderly, those with low income, as well as people with disabilities. Voter suppression is nothing new; it has been around as long as the United States has. However, since 2008, states across the country have ramped up suppression by passing laws to make it difficult for certain Americans to exercise their fundamental right to cast a ballot.
35 States now have some form of voter ID law in effect. Of those 35, nine have very rigid voter laws. For example, if voters show up to the polls without an accepted form of ID, they must cast a provisional ballot then return to an election office later with some form of ID for their vote to be counted. According to a study administered by the Government Accountability office strict ID laws, have been successful in reducing voter turnout by 2-3% across the board. It has also been found to reduce voter turnout among Black, Latino, and multiracial voters more so than among white voters. Other voter suppression tactics include cuts to early voting, reducing polling places, switching polling places, and purges of voter rolls.
Some states experienced a higher degree of obstacles than others; unfortunately thousands of those voters never received their absentee ballots and had to wait in line for hours to vote. Many states faced major hurdles with registration since the state was automatically rejecting registration applications that did not exactly match all the information in the state’s database. As US citizens and registered voters we have rights and it is imperative that you know what your rights are. Election Protection Coalition works throughout the year to ensure that all voters have an equal opportunity to vote and have their vote count. They maximize several tools and activities to protect, advance, and defend the right to vote; including assisting with the voter registration process, to absentee and early voting, to casting a vote at the polls, as well as, overcoming participation obstacles. If you have any questions or concern regarding your right to vote Election Protection is ready to assist you.
Call 1~866~OURVOTE