Be the Ballot
Some used to say that the least you could do in a participatory democracy such as ours is to vote. But now, with the sharp and painful memory of 2000, 2004, and 2006 election day shenanigans still fresh in our minds, we have to do so much more. We have to be the Dr. Phils of voting and take a pro-active approach to our most precious right.
To that end, journalist and author Steve Rosenfeld has written Count My Vote – A Citizen’s Guide to Voting, a book which is sure to help people navigate through the many road blocks that have been thrown up between them and the voting booth.
Last week Joan Brunwasser of OpEdNews posted an interview with Steve and this week she posts a sneak preview:
Count My Vote Issues and Solutions
1. ISSUE: New statewide voter databases.
Voters whose names have changed as a result of marriage, divorce, or other reasons; whose names are hyphenated; or who have recently moved, cannot assume the new statewide voter lists have correctly included them. The same is true for people who have not voted in recent elections; they may have been purged from voter lists. The solution, no matter where you live, is to contact your local election office and verify your voter registration.
To do this, go this website (overseasvotefoundation.org) and use their “election official directory” to find out who to call in your locale. Verify your registration information is correct. If something is wrong, ask to fix it.
2. ISSUE: Voter ID requirements.
Voters should find out in advance what type of ID their state requires and bring it with them on Election Day. A healthy supply of patience may also come in handy, since voter hotlines during the primaries reported that some poll workers were unsure which IDs were acceptable and asked voters to wait while they checked.
3. ISSUE: Paperless electronic voting machines (DREs)
Voters can make sure their e-voting machines are working properly. The websites of many secretaries of state now have demos of voting machines so voters can get a visual preview of touch-screen voting. VerifiedVoting.org has a web-based tool that allows voters to identify the type of voting machines used in almost every county in the U.S., along with contact information for local election officials.
On Election Day, if you believe a machine is malfunctioning, you should stop and ask a poll worker for help before casting your ballot. If the problem persists, ask to use another machine. If you experience the same problem on a second DRE machine, ask to vote on a backup paper ballot, call a voter hotline for help (1-866-OUR-VOTE), and talk to a lawyer or trained staffer. You also can call the campaign office of the presidential candidate you support, since campaigns station observers in polling places. If your voting system has a VVPAT printer attached, you should verify that your vote is correctly recorded before submitting your ballot. Voters should use common sense and remember that voting is a right, not a privilege. Poll workers are there to help you—as long as they follow their state’s election laws.
4. ISSUE: Absentee ballot applications
Domestic registered voters must contact their county or state election office and request an absentee ballot. This can be done in person at county election offices or by mail. The Nonprofit Voter Engagement Network (nonprofitvote.org) allows people to click on their state and request absentee ballot applications. It also has instructions on how to submit those forms. Their website should be very useful for seniors. The OVF site’s directory of election officials has names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers and mailing addresses. Applications may be available online at secretaries of state websites, and some states even attach them to sample ballots sent out before an election.
5. ISSUE: Standing up for your voting rights
Hang on to the documents you use to register, or make copies, so come Election Day you have a folder of paperwork you can grab on your way to the polls. If you are among the few who run into database errors, missing registration information, incorrect voter purges, or any other obstacle—including political party volunteers challenging your registration—you will be prepared to prove that you are a legal, registered voter.
6. ISSUE: Long lines, confused poll workers
Poll workers are ordinary citizens doing a time-consuming and tedious job. Many have been at it for years, and untold thousands across the nation do a fine job. While they undergo regular training, some are not always as competent as the public would like. The fine points of using the newest voting systems or enforcing the newest laws account for many of the “competency” complaints that voter hotlines receive during the primary season. It is important for voters, especially in a high-turnout election, to take a deep breath and be patient and polite if problems arise.
If a member of another political party challenges a voter’s registration—which has been a Republican threat in recent presidential elections and is legal in battleground states such as Ohio and Indiana—keeping one’s cool will encourage poll workers to fairly settle the matter. If your voter registration is correct and up to date, you have nothing to worry about. The goal of such challenges is as much to create bottlenecks and delays (in the hopes that frustrated people will leave without voting) as it is to validate voters’ credentials. That partisan tactic is an unfortunate residue of the era in the American South when the governing class sought to minimize minority voter turnout.
Still, staying calm and collected when your vote appears jeopardized is sometimes easier said than done.
7. ISSUE: Voting in multiple-precinct polling places.
Some states are turning to so-called voter centers to replace local polling places. Voters need to be sure and stand in the correct line at these centers. They should know their precinct number and ask to be certain they’re in the right place—otherwise they may have to wait in line all over again. Also, in some states, such as Ohio, a voter who receives a provisional ballot must turn it in at the correct precinct—which can be one of several tables in a room. Before 2004, Ohio voters could turn in provisional ballots anywhere in their county.
8. ISSUE: Voter hotlines and legal assistance
If last-minute questions arise, two hotlines are available to help: 1-866-OUR-VOTE connects callers to a lawyer or a trained volunteer, and 1-866-MYVOTE1 offers precinct location information and allows callers to leave a message for local election officials. (Don’t forget to leave your name, address, and telephone number so voter advocates or election officials can call you back.) Staffers report that most of the calls received concern registration information and poll location. Both hotlines also contact the media to publicize problems and alert voters.
On some occasions, it might be necessary to notify the local board of election or election administrator’s office to try to rectify a problem. Should a problem require court intervention, a judge will first ask if all other avenues have been explored. It is not uncommon in these circumstances for local election officials, through their lawyers, to claim they never received any complaints.
Very useful stuff. Remember our motto: Never Let Anyone Tell You That You Can’t Vote!