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Voter Protection

Millions of Americans are prevented from exercising their right to vote because of voter intimidation or suppression, or because of mistakes by election officials.
The 2000 presidential race exposed serious flaws in our nation’s election system. In the aftermath of that election, studies found that as many as four million registered voters who wanted to vote were turned away or discouraged from voting.1 Although some Election 2000 concerns have been addressed, widespread problems were again reported in 2004. For example, one volunteer election protection hotline handled 125,000 calls in the fall of 2004—75,000 of them on Election Day.2
Voter intimidation tactics are employed across the nation.
Almost 40 years after the historic Voting Rights Act was enacted, many Americans are still subjected to threats and intimidation when they try to exercise their right to vote. For example:
  • In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, flyers were circulated under the banner “Milwaukee Black Voters League” which warned that, anyone who had voted earlier in the year was ineligible to vote in the presidential election, residents who had been convicted of any offense and their families were ineligible to vote, and that violation could result in ten years imprisonment and the voters’ children being taken away.3
  • In Columbia, South Carolina, a letter purporting to be from the NAACP threatened that voters with outstanding parking tickets or unpaid child support would be arrested.4
  • In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, voters in African American communities were systematically challenged by men carrying clipboards who drove a fleet of some 300 sedans with magnetic signs designed to look like law enforcement insignia.5
Voter suppression through lies and deception is even more common.
The use of tricks designed to fool Americans into staying home on Election Day is even more widespread than outright intimidation. For example:
  • In Orange County, California, 14,000 registered voters received a letter in Spanish that warned that it was illegal for immigrants to vote. The letter also stated that immigrants who voted could go to prison.6
  • In Lake County, Ohio, newly-registered voters received a fake letter that appeared to come from the Lake County Board of Elections. The letter said that voter registrations gathered by Democratic campaigns or the NAACP were illegal and that those voters would not be allowed to vote.7
  • In Orlando, Florida, a first-time voter was visited by a woman with a clipboard who asked how she was going to vote. When the voter replied that she preferred Kerry, the visitor told the voter that she needn’t go to the polls because her vote had been recorded on the clipboard. This same tactic was repeated throughout Florida.8
  • In Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, a flyer designed to look like an official announcement from McCandless Township claimed that, because of expected “immense voter turnout,” the 2004 election would be conducted over two days. The flyer requested that Republicans vote on November 2, while Democrats should vote on November 3.9
Americans are also denied the right to vote by preventable mistakes on the part of election officials.
In 2000, a million more votes would have been cast or counted if voters and precinct officials had understood basic election rules.10 Mistakes about voters’ rights continued in 2004. For example:
  • In Ames, Iowa, an election official prevented nearly 100 university students from voting by instructing polling places to close at the scheduled time despite the fact that people were still waiting in line.11
  • In south Florida, eligible voters were turned away because election officials misinterpreted the laws governing photo identification.12
The federal Voting Rights Act does not adequately protect voters.
Voter intimidation is a federal crime under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. But most violators are never punished because federal prosecutors are unable or unwilling to pursue these cases. Further, while federal law applies to intimidation, it does not prohibit willfully fraudulent voter suppression tactics. Federal law also does nothing to prevent mistakes by election officials.
States can adopt the Voter Protection Act.
The Voter Protection Act combines the best practices of laws in California, Connecticut and Illinois. It employs three avenues to ensure that every eligible voter is allowed to vote:
  • Penalties for intimidation and suppression—Heavy penalties would be imposed for both voter intimidation and suppression. Most states currently prohibit voter intimidation but not fraudulent suppression. Many state voter intimidation laws also have inadequate penalties.
  • Voter’s Bill of Rights—Every polling place would be required to post a Voter’s Bill of Rights. Seven states (CA, CT, FL, IN, MN, NV, NJ) currently have a Voter’s Bill of Rights.
  • Election Day Manual of Procedures—A book that clearly sets out election rules would be available to both voters and officials at the polls. In 2005, New Jersey and Washington enacted laws requiring an election manual.
Endnotes
  1. Caltech/MIT Voting Technology Project, “Voting: What Is, What Could Be,” July 2001.
  2. People for the American Way, “Election Protection Had Powerful Impact, But Election System Still Fails Voters,” November 5, 2004.
  3. People For the American Way, “Run-Up to Election Exposes Widespread Barriers to Voting,” November 2004.
  4. Associated Press, “Bogus Letter Circulating in South Carolina Warns of Arrests of Deadbeat Voters,” October 30, 2004.
  5. People For the American Way Foundation and NAACP, “The Long Shadow of Jim Crow: Voter Intimidation and Suppression in America Today,” 2004.
  6. Aurelio Rojas, “Officials probe mailer that warns Latino voters,” The Sacramento Bee, October 18, 2006.
  7. Jay Maynor, “Phony letters tell people they cannot vote,” WKYC-TV, October 28, 2004.
  8. David Karp, Michael Sandler and Tamara Luch, “Dirty tricks litter path to election,” St. Petersburg Times, October 29, 2004.
  9. “Run-Up to Election Exposes Widespread Barriers to Voting.”
  10. “Voting: What Is, What Could Be.”
  11. “Voters Turned Away in Ames,” Des Moines Register, October 22, 2004.
  12. “Voter ID Problems in Florida,” New York Times, October 7, 2004.
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