Five Days to Election Day: Election Protection Coalition Launches Hotline to Protect, Educate & Assist Voters

10/28/2004 9:49:00 AM

To: Metro Desk, Political Reporter

Contact: Marjorie Press Lindblom, 212-446-4868 (Kirkland & Ellis call center); or Kay Shaw, 212-965-2200 (NAACP LDF call center); or Michael Cooper, 212-558-3712 (Sullivan & Cromwell call center)

NEW YORK, Oct. 28 /U.S. Newswire/ With less than one week to go before Election Day 2004, the Election Protection Coalition will launch the nationwide, nonpartisan Know Your Rights/Election Protection Program in New York City on Monday, Nov. 1st.

The Election Protection Program provides voter information and assistance, expert legal help, poll monitors to help voters understand their rights, and voter assistance when problems arise. Election Protection targets historically disenfranchised communities, including Hispanic, African-American and low-income communities, by providing these voters with key information and advice.

Starting on Monday, November 1st, the toll-free number (866-OUR-VOTE) will be staffed by legal volunteers trained to provide voters with free legal help. In addition, legal volunteers will be on the ground monitoring ed polling places and will be available to intervene in person or place telephone calls to the appropriate election official.

The five New York City call centers will have over 200 lines available to hotline callers across the nation and will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m EST.

"No one, regardless of race or ethnicity, should be denied the right to vote," said Marjorie Press Lindblom, a partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP and co-chair of The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. "The right to vote is central to our democracy and is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The goal of the Election Protection initiative is to make sure that people are not deprived of this most fundamental democratic right."

"The significance of the national nonpartisan Election Protection effort is best illustrated through the enthusiasm and commitment of the scores of people who have volunteered their time and energy to help ensure that a measure of basic fairness is restored to the electoral process on November 2, 2004," said Debo Adegbile, Associate Director of Litigation for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Election Protection is needed now more than ever. State election officials face new requirements under the Help America Vote Act. New and unfamiliar electronic voting machines will be used in some states. Unparalleled numbers of new voters are expected to go to the polls this year. Election Protection is committed to making our system work, educating voters about their rights, and preparing for problems before they arise.

"Now more than ever, we need Election Protection," said Tatia Miller, a lawyer at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, one of the firms operating as a Command Center for the Election Protection Program. "Unparalleled numbers of new voters are expected to go to the polls this year and Election Protection is committed to fighting the widespread voter disenfranchisement left in the wake of the 2000 election. It is critical that every single person who wants to vote has resources available to them that will ensure their rights are protected and their voices are heard."

Election Protection is the nation's most ambitious non-partisan program for preventing Election Day disenfranchisement. The coalition of state and national allies seeks to ensure that every eligible voter casts a ballot that counts on Election Day.