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ACLU Urges Voters to Call Toll-free Hotline to Report Election Day
Voting Problems
November 4, 2002
MIAMI ? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has launched a toll-free complaint hotline to collect information regarding statewide voting problems on Election Day.
Through the toll-free hotline, the ACLU plans to document complaints from voters on a wide range of elections issues, including equipment malfunctions, access to the polls, discriminatory and/or illegal election practices, failure to assist voters with special needs and illegal removal of voters from the rolls.
Voters can call the hotline ? 1-866-597-4909 ? to report complaints during election week ? Monday, November 4th through Friday, November 8th, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"We are urging anyone who encounters problems at the polls to contact the ACLU so that we can work to correct the problem on Tuesday if possible," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida. "For problems that linger, we'll continue our work to ensure that Florida elections officials institute necessary reforms to protect the fundamental right to vote."
For the past two years, the ACLU of Florida has been working through public education, litigation and lobbying to seek fundamental changes to the voting practices in Florida. Shortly after the September 10th voting fiasco in various parts of Florida, the ACLU joined with other nonpartisan groups to implement electoral reforms in Miami-Dade County.
The ACLU of Florida is also distributing "Your Rights as a Florida Voter" flyers and "Make Your Vote Count!" brochures in Miami-Dade County advising people about their rights when going to the polls. The "Make Your Vote Count!" brochures, produced jointly by the ACLU and League of Women Voters of Dade County, are available in English, Spanish and Kreyol. The brochure answers the vast majority of questions that have been raised about using new voting machines or provisional ballots, voting at a new precinct or asking a family member for help in the voting booth. It can be obtained by writing to: Alessandra Soler Meetze, Communications Director, ACLU of Florida, 4500 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 340, Miami, Florida 33137.
Contact:
Alessandra Soler Meetze, Communications
Director, or Courtenay Strickland,
Voting Rights Project Coordinator
