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October 28, 2004

Attorneys: voters should know rights

Nadine Cohen

The November 2000 presidential election saw widespread voting irregularities and highlighted the ongoing problem of unequal access to the ballot for millions of Americans.

Voters of color were most heavily impacted and disproportionately excluded from participation in the electoral process. While Florida was the most blatant example of voter harassment, intimidation and misinformation intended to deter or prevent people of color from voting, right here in Massachusetts we have experienced similar problems.

Problems in Massachusetts have included:

• Lack of language assistance or intentionally inaccurate language assistance to registered voters with limited English proficiency

• Refusals to allow voters who are not on voting lists to vote by provisional ballots

• Misapplication of identification requirements

• Illegally refusing to allow voters to bring someone into the polls to assist them in voting if they need language assistance or have a disability

• Rude and unprofessional treatment of voters by poll workers

• Misdirecting voters to wrong polling places

The Lawyers’’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association has joined with MassVOTE, Dunk the Vote, ACLU-Massachusetts, Boston Branch NAACP, the Chinese Progressive Association, the Black Political Task Force, ¿Oiste?, the Greater Boston Legal Services’ Asian Outreach Unit and others, to implement a Massachusetts November 2004 Election Protection Project.

The Project is training lawyers, law students and community volunteers in election law and voters legal rights, so that they can serve as poll monitors on Election Day.

This Massachusetts Election Protection Project is part of the national Election Protection effort to empower and educate voters in advance of the 2004 election and is aimed at insuring that all those who are duly registered to vote, particularly people of color and voters with limited English capabilities, who seek to vote on Election Day, are permitted to cast their vote and their votes are counted.

Be prepared

What should voters in Massachusetts know before they head out to the poll? The following are some basic facts voters should be aware of.

• Bring ID with you. If you are a newly registered voter you may be required to show ID. This can be any document with your name and current address on it such as a utility bill, lease, government check or photo ID. If you do not have ID with you, you should go home to get it. If you cannot get your ID you are permitted to vote by provisional ballot. Your vote will only be counted if you produce your ID within 48 hours.

• If you have trouble understanding English or have a physical impairment you may bring someone into the voting booth with you to help you vote.

• If your name is not on the voting list the poll worker should call the election department to determine if you are on the inactive list. If your name is found on any list you should be permitted to vote. If your name is not found on the list you are permitted to vote by provisional ballot.

Your vote will only be counted if you are later determined to be registered and qualified. If you are registered to vote at a different polling place, the poll worker must tell you where you should go to vote.

• If you have moved and have not notified election officials of your new address you can vote in your old location if you moved within the last six months. Find out where you are registered to vote prior to Election Day.

• If you are in line by 8 p.m. when the polls are closing, you must be permitted to vote.

• If you make a mistake or “spoil” your ballot you are entitled to up to two replacement ballots.

• You have the right to cast your ballot in a manner that ensures privacy where other people cannot see you mark your ballot.

• Every polling place in Massachusetts must be accessible to physically disabled and elderly voters.

• You have a right to remain in the polling booth for 5 minutes if there are other voters waiting and 10 minutes if no other voters are waiting.

• If you are within 150 feet of the polling place entrance, you have the right to vote or wait in line without anyone electioneering or trying to influence your vote.

• You have a right to take materials in the voting booth with you including notes, brochures, pamphlets, voters’ bill of rights and other documents.

The right to vote is perhaps our most precious right in a democracy. Let us be sure to know our rights and exercise them. The Massachusetts Election Protection Project will have attorneys staffing a hotline to answer voters’ questions and assist voters who encounter voting problems.

The hotline number is 1-866-OUR-VOTE. We will also have trained monitors at many polling locations to assist voters if asked and to take complaints. We will be working with local and state election officials to ensure that any problems are quickly resolved. This election is too important — we will protect the vote. 

Nadine Cohen is an attorney with the Lawyers’ Committee For Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association.

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