Voting Problems? What Should You Do?

States in the Northeast and Midwest Already Reporting Voting Problems

LDP
A wait in line for over an hour to vote, your voter registration card is for the wrong ward, and now the voting machine is on the fritz. Many Americans are going to face these issues today as this historic race to the White House ultimately ends today. Record numbers of voters are expected to make their ways to the polls today and already some polling places are reporting malfunctions.

Polling places in Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Florida, and Ohio have all reported voting malfunctions as of Election Day.

The Election Protection Coalition, a non-partisan group that was formed to ensure protect the rights of voters, have already fielded an estimated 11,000 complaints. More problems are feared to arise later in the West Coast and Rocky Mountain states.

Other than machine error, other problems that are faced at the polling stations are:

They can't find my name on the voter rolls.If this happens, first make sure you are at the right polling place and precinct. If in fact you did register to vote before the cut off time, you should still be able to vote by provisional vote. Election judges will open provisional ballots after November 4 and decide which votes should be counted. In some states a provisional ballot cast in the wrong precinct will still be counted.

I can't find my photo I.D., can I still go vote? Yes, unless you are in Georgia or Indiana. If you live in a different state, you will have to have some form of identification. Some states do require a photo i.d. if you are a first time voter and registered by mail. In any case, some states will allow a provisional ballot if you do not have the proper identification on Election Day.


I was registered by ACORN, will my vote count?
Your vote should still count. In the event that the Republican Party goes through with threats of challenging those votes you should make sure to bring proof of your identity, address, and age.

To make a voting complaint you can contact the Election Protection Coalition at 1-866-OUR-VOTE. You can also report complaints to the non-partisan Voter Alert Line at 1-866-MYVOTE1 or the Election Assistance Commission at 1-866-747-1471.

Published by LDP

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4 Comments

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  • Emma Beverage11/5/2008

    To finish what I was trying to say on my first comment:

    I came away with the impression that Obama was going to take the state by a landslide. I know that the Black Church's in Oklahoma City are not the only Church's that organized their congregations. This had to be happening all across this state, as well as the United States. If every vote counts in Oklahoma how did this state stay red? How did the Republicans win? I think we need an honest recount.

  • Emma Beverage11/5/2008

    I took a friend to vote on Saturday, November 1, 2008. I can't stand for long periods of time so my friend stood in line for me. I sat in the shade and watched and listened to the crowd as it passed by me. It was obvious that the Black Church's had organized their congregations to vote early. They had a group drumming in the median of the street. They had people handing out water to people who had been standing in the long lines. They even had people handing out chicken wings because the lines were so long that people were getting hungry! The entire line of voters kept breaking out into spontaneous cheers for Obama. If there were any supporters for McCain in the lines they were so outnumbered that they kept their mouths shut and did not let it be known who they were supporting. The entire wait felt like a festive rally for Obama. We were in line for four hours on Saturday. The lines were just as long the day before. I came away with the impression that Obama was going to take the state

  • Patricia Sicilia11/4/2008

    Um, in those neighborhoods, I would be glad to see a Black Panther. They are there to make sure no A-Hs decide to cause trouble. And they aren't looking for repubs, they are looking for young men who might cause trouble.

  • Your name11/4/2008

    "Malfuctions"? Try Black Panters in uniform and armed with clubs standing in front of a polling place:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKHyGuHU


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