Voter suppression... again!

The Advancement Project held a media briefing today concerning voting issues and victories around the country. Communications Director Sabrina E. Williams explained the need to remove obstacles for voters prior to election day because America has "over 13,000 separate systems and rules" based on states and counties that can confuse and distract voters. Judith A. Browne-Dianis is the Co-Director of the Advancement Project and stated that she was concerned about the "unprepared infrastructure" of the polling places because of the expected historical rates of turnout. She outlined the negative consequences of provisional ballots that are almost always not counted anyway, as well as the matching bills that show eligible voters as only those people whose registration form addresses match those of the Department of Motor Vehicles. In states like Michigan, foreclosure lists have become an issue where voters are being told that they are ineligible to vote because their house is in foreclosure. According to Browne-Dianis, in Virginia, Governor Tim Kaine has not requested help from the Department of Justice and the polling places and poll workers are not prepared for election day. In some polling places there are over 350 voters per machine, which will mean longer lines and that voters are more likely to leave without voting. Kaine has expressed that long lines should be expected, but the Advancement Project and its allies have asked for paper ballots and an extension of voting hours. The Republican National Committee has publicly stated that they oppose both of these measures.

Edward A. Hailes, Jr. is a senior attorney for the Advancement Project. He highlighted some of the victories in the past week for voters around the country. In Colorado, for example, thousands of registration forms were deemed incomplete because of an unchecked box. As election officials realized just how many voters were being unlisted, they realized it was because the applicants needed to give their social security number and check a box, but most people were just giving the number. Election officials have since sent letters to over 1,400 people telling them that they are still eligible to vote. Poll worker training was also examined by the Advancement Project and was found lacking. Instead, the Advancement Project has made "cheat sheets of information" that will be necessary for specific issues that may occur on election day.

Elizabeth Westfall is also a senior attorney for the Advancement Project and she discussed the legal battles that have been happening in battleground states like Ohio and Florida. The Secretary of State of Florida, specifically, has decided to enforce the "No Match Law" that requires accurate matches of address from the DMV and voter registration forms. This leaves more than 12,000 eligible voters without the ability to vote. However, since this law was passed, election officials in over five counties has "parted ways from the Secretary of State" and are allowing these disenfranchised voters to vote. Westfall called this an "encouraging step in the right direction."