The Problem

Why Election Protection?
It wasn’t just 2000. It wasn’t just Florida.

• In 1993, signs in English and Spanish were heavily posted throughout Latino areas in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Voters were warned, falsely, that immigration officials would be waiting at the polls.
• In 2002, fliers were distributed in black communities in Louisiana advising voters of the special Senate election on December 10. Except…Election Day was actually two days earlier--on December 8.
• In 2002, URGENT NOTICE fliers were posted in black communities in Baltimore. The fliers incorrectly warned that parking tickets and overdue rent should be paid before voting.
• In Philadelphia last year, men carrying clipboards, driving a fleet of some 300 sedans with magnetic signs designed to look like law-enforcement insignia, challenged black voters.
• Last year in South Dakota, under the auspices of a state voter fraud initiative, state and federal agents interrogated almost 2,000 new Native American voters. The program was carried out by the state attorney general, in conjunction with the Justice Department-- and only counties with significant Native American populations were targeted.
• Just this year, a Michigan state legislator said, “If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we’re going to have a tough time in this election.” African Americans comprise 83 percent of Detroit’s electorate. (Most of these examples come from “The Long Shadow of Jim Crow,” a Special Report by the People for the American Way Foundation.)

It wasn’t just 2000. It wasn’t just Florida.

But it was the irregularities in the 2000 election—estimates are that between 4 and 6 million Americans were disenfranchised on November 8, mostly in minority communities—that inspired the creation of the Election Protection Program. In anticipation of the 2004 election cycle, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law, People for the American Way Foundation, and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation/Unity ‘04 are leading the most ambitious contemporary voter protection program in history.

Election Protection is a nonpartisan coalition of civil rights and civic organizations committed to protecting the right of all citizens to cast their ballots—and to have their votes counted.

The coalition is accomplishing this goal by developing strategies to identify and respond to problems before Election Day through grassroots efforts, education and outreach programs to voters and election officials, as well as litigation, when necessary. A voters’ rights Hotline (1-866-OUR VOTE) offers immediate legal assistance to voters with questions or problems.

The Hotline serves as an immediate, on-the-spot resource and will be operational from the early voting period through Election Day. Legal volunteers will staff the Hotline in national call centers inWashington, D.C. and San Francisco and at regional and local call centers in strategic locations throughout the country; each volunteer is trained in identification of common problems experienced by voters, election law and the resources available to attorneys on Election Day.

“Our goals are to ensure that voters know their rights and are able to exercise those rights despite the possibility of obstacles, intimidation and poll worker errors,” says Barbara R. Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization formed in 1963 at the request of President Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination.

“Election Protection has consistently provided nationwide assistance to voters during six different election cycles, “Arnwine says. “This year will be the largest effort, as we plan to expand our previous activities and success in assisting voters.”

For its 2004 effort, Election Protection has targeted 30 states that have substantial minority populations, 17 of which are top priority states chosen because of the high minority voting age population, a history of voting irregularities and a signigicant potential for those irregularities to continue through the 2004 Election cycle.

The key priority states are Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. Thirteen other states, including New Jersey, New York and Washington, are on the targeted list.

In addition, a Voter’s Bill of Rights and legal research materials will be created for all fifty states.

In each of the targeted states the Election Protection Program has created a network of attorneys and law students to provide local legal expertise on Election Day. Their responsibility is to coordinate an expansive volunteer organization, attend meetings with election officials, engage in extensive voter-education efforts, provide immediate support to voters who may have problems voting, staff an Election Protection Command Center on Election Day to serve as a resource both for volunteers at polling places and national Election Protection Hotline attorneys—and be prepared to file litigation in the event it is necessary to address voting rights violations. In addition, volunteers will be placed in targeted polling places to monitor the conduct of the election.

In order to be most effective, the Election Protection Coalition has already conducted targeted programs during the 2004 primary election campaign. In Florida during the August 31 Primary Election, the program targeted five counties with large minority populations and ran a statewide 1-866 OUR VOTE hotline which received nearly 800 calls. Our experience this year, coupled with over 6 previous Election Protection Programs has prepared the coalition for the challenges that lay ahead in November.