Protect Yourself: A Guide to Election Breakdowns and Scams

April 20, 2008 | By PA Pundits |

by Tim Potts

Protect Yourself: A Guide to Election Breakdowns and Scams
The bare-knuckled tradition of PA elections is showing the nation how ugly things can get in the birthplace of American Democracy. Candidates unleash last-minute smear campaigns while those who seek the high road are cast as hopelessly naïve and, by implication, unfit for office.

As bad as the campaigns are, there is real concern that the election system itself may be worse. Record voter registration threatens to overwhelm polling places and voting machines. In Philadelphia alone, the Committee of Seventy , a century-old government watchdog, will have more than 700 trained volunteers at polling places to safeguard voters’ rights and report problems.

A study released yesterday by Common Cause USA documents that, “During the week of the 2006 election, Pennsylvanians recorded more calls to a Common Cause election protection hotline than any state in the country. Four PA counties Lancaster, Allegheny, York and Philadelphia were among the top 10 most active counties in the nation in terms of number of calls to the hotline.” Click here for the full report.

Your Voter Survival Kit
From various sources, here’s how to make sure your vote will count.

New voters and those voting in a new precinct may be required to have ID. So take an ID with your address on it, preferably a photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport. NOTE: Other voters are NOT required to produce ID, but it can’t hurt to have it with you anyway.
Take your official voter registration card.
Take your cell phone. There are two voter hotlines: 1-866-OUR-VOTE and 1-866-My-VOTE-1. Call to report problems with voting machines, lack of emergency paper ballots or other problems. Voters with disabilities can contact the Disability Rights Network of PA at 1-800-692-7443, http://drnpa.org/.
If voting machines will not start or break down, do not leave. Ask for an emergency paper ballot.
If you registered recently and your name isn’t in the registration book, do not leave. First, ask if there is a supplemental registration list. Then ask the election workers to call the county election office. Then ask for a provisional ballot. If you cannot get a provisional ballot, call either the county election office or a voter hotline.
Print this and take it with you to the polls.

Scams to Watch Out For
These scams have happened in the past and may happen again.

Scam: Callers tell you that your voter registration is invalid for some odd reason and that you may be arrested if you try to vote.
Truth: If you have a registration card from your county election office, no one can arrest you for voting.

Scam: Callers tell you that because of expected heavy turnout, election officials have arranged for you to vote on Wednesday. This scam usually targets voters in one party or the other. A variation on this scam happened in Pittsburgh in 2004 when flyers told Democrats to vote on Wednesday.
Truth: Election Day is Tuesday, April 22. You cannot vote on Monday, Wednesday or any other day.

Scam: Callers tell you that because of expected heavy turnout, you will have to stand in line for several hours or else vote on Wednesday. This scam usually targets seniors.
Truth: Election Day is Tuesday, April 22. You cannot vote on Wednesday or any other day. There is no way to predict how heavy the turnout will be at any given polling place at any given time of day, although afternoon hours are usually less busy than early morning or evening hours.

Scam: Callers tell you that your polling place has changed to another location far away. This scam also targets seniors as well as inner-city voters who may only have access to public transportation.
Truth: Polling places are established early and cannot change immediately before an election. If you have any doubt about where your polling place is, call your county election office or click here for the official list of sites from the state Bureau of Elections.

Scam: Students who are registered where they attend school are called or confronted at a polling place and told that if they try to vote, they can lose their student aid, be arrested or cost their parents a tax deduction.
Truth: The Constitution protects the right of duly registered students to vote where they attend school.

Scam: Voters receive official-looking letters saying that voter registration drives conducted by various groups were invalid and the voter is not legally registered to vote.
Truth: If you have a valid voter registration card issued by your county election office, you are registered to vote, regardless of whether an organization helped you to register.

Scam: Voters are told that if they haven’t voted by 8:00 p.m. they can’t vote at all, even if they’re standing in line.
Truth: If you are in line at 8:00 p.m., you have the right to vote, and the polls must stay open until you do.

Bottom Line
If you are legally registered to vote, don’t let anyone try to prevent you from voting on April 22.
[Or at any other election, anywhere. ---ed]

Democracy Rising Pennsylvania P.O. Box 618, Carlisle, PA 17013