People For the American Way Foundation and National Coalition Marshals Organizers, Poll Monitors, Attorneys to Protect Voters’ Rights in Texas, 19 Other States
People For the American Way Foundation together with a broad coalition of national civil rights and civic participation organizations will conduct the nonpartisan Election Protection program on the ground in Texas and across the country on November 5 to educate voters about their rights and offer same-day assistance to voters who run into trouble on Election Day.
Groups carrying out Election Protection efforts have prepared state-specific “Voters’ Bill of Rights” materials in plain English or Spanish for Texas and 19 other states. All the materials, which will be distributed by state and local groups encouraging civic participation, include a toll-free hotline number for voters to reach attorneys ready to help and solve problems. In addition to Texas, PFAWF and its partners have extensive programs on the ground in Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, and Wisconsin, where radio and print ads will buttress the materials and on-site poll monitors will distribute voting rights information and be available to help voters.
On September 10, 2002, when thousands of Florida citizens had difficulty voting due to a combination of faulty machines, poorly trained poll workers, and inadequate planning and oversight by election officials, many Americans were shocked that such problems could remain two years after the fiasco of November 2000. But People For the American Way Foundation and its strategic partners were prepared and on the ground in selected areas with poll monitors and lawyers. Together we documented problems, helped citizens cast their votes, consulted with election officials, and successfully called on state officials to keep the polls open late. The Election Protection program will be back in action in Florida and across the nation this fall.
The design of Election Protection is grounded in the Florida experience. In 2000, Arrive With Five, currently a project of People For the American Way Foundation, helped lead a coalition effort that led to a historic increase in turnout in the African American community. Tens of thousands of new voters registered and went to the polls, but many were unable to cast a vote or have it counted.
A Model of Effective Collaboration
Election Protection’s success rests on its ability to excite and mobilize volunteers by drawing on the expertise, networks, and resources of a broad range of organizations. PFAWF’s national partners include the African American Ministers Leadership Council, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, Black Youth Vote, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the NAACP National Voter Fund, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Council on Black Civic Participation, the National Council of La Raza, the National Newspaper Publishers Association, the National Hispanic Press Foundation, the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, the U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute, ADA Watch, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the National Council on Independent Living, and the National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems. State-level coalitions include a wide array of civic, legal, religious, and labor organizations.
In Texas, civil rights, civic participation and public interest groups joining with volunteers will include: A. Philip Randolph Institute-Houston, ACORN, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees, Friends of Friends, Houston Branch NAACP, Houston Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Houston Su Voto es Su Voz Alliance, Mu Kappa Omega Chapter, Shape Community Center and Third Ward Community Cloth.
How Election Protection Works
Election Protection brings national strategic partners together with state and local coalition members in a comprehensive program of nonpartisan voter education and mobilization, Election Day poll monitoring, and free same-day legal assistance for voters who run into any problems.
It begins with voter education. In Texas and each other state where Election Protection is working, we analyze election laws and produce a “Voters’ Bill of Rights” that tells voters in plain English (and, in some areas, Spanish and Creole) precisely what their rights are at the polls. Copies of the Voters’ Bill of Rights are distributed widely through community groups in advance of the election.
On the weekend before Election Day, Election Protection participants engage in door-to-door canvassing and literature distribution in targeted precincts to remind people about Election Day and distribute copies of the Voters’ Bill of Rights that informs people of their rights as voters and gives them confidence that they will be able to overcome problems that arise.
On Election Day, volunteer poll monitors in trademark Election Protection T-Shirts emblazoned with “You Have the Right to Vote” work at targeted precincts, helping answer voters’ questions, encouraging them to assert their rights, and intervening with poll workers.
A toll-free hotline number (1-866-OUR-VOTE) is printed on all materials and publicized via radio and print ads and earned media. Lawyers and law students trained to respond to problems are available by telephone and are on-call in satellite offices and elsewhere to visit precincts and contact election officials if necessary.
Proven Success in the Field
In 2001, more than 300,000 copies of state-specific voters’ bill of rights cards and posters were distributed in elections in Virginia and New Jersey, with more than 1,000 participants distributing Election Protection literature and working at polling places. More than 200 student volunteers from Historically Black Colleges & Universities participated. Nearly 200 attorneys and law students were trained, working hotlines, or available for on-the-ground assistance. Knowledgeable volunteers handled many problems at the polling places; other problems were reported to attorneys for potential legal action. Some Election Day problems were reported immediately to the New Jersey Attorney General’s office; hotline lawyers referred one complaint to the Department of Justice for immediate attention.
Election Protection also helps prevent problems. After our highly visible and successful trial run of Election Protection in a June 19, 2001 special election in Virginia, election officials responded with additional training for poll workers and prepared their own voters’ bill of rights. Our Illinois office was invited by Cook County officials and the Joyce Foundation to help address voting problems in Chicago and Cook County, where 6 percent of those voting in 2000 did not record a vote for President. PFAWF helped develop a program that closely mirrors Election Protection and was tested in the March 19, 2002 primary. The Cook County Clerk and the Chicago Board of Elections jointly published a Voters’ Bill of Rights that they mailed to every registered voter and posted in every polling place. They also set up hotlines for voters and judges who had questions on Election Day, developed training manuals for judges, and implemented several other media strategies to get the word out about voters’ rights at the polls. People For the American Way Foundation also served as “precinct advisors” during the primary and is now helping recruit and train poll workers for the fall election.