Election Protection Aims to Prevent a Repeat of 'Unprecedented' Voting Problems

Feature Story by Civilrights.org staff - 10/24/2002

As "Unprecedented," a new documentary about Election 2000 by filmmakers Joan Sekler and Richard Ray Perez, reminds the nation of the 2000 fiasco in Florida, national civil rights organizations are hard at work to be sure it never happens again.

On October 22, People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) and the National Education Association (NEA) cosponsored the Washington, D.C. premiere of "Unprecedented," a film Ralph Neas, PFAWF President, says, "takes an unflinching look at one of the most egregious violations of voter rights since the enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965."

In response to Florida irregularities and subsequent studies indicating that literally millions of Americans were similarly disenfranchised across the country in November 2000, PFAWF partnered with other concerned groups to create Election Protection, the nation's most ambitious nonpartisan program aimed at helping voters know, exercise, and protect their rights on Election Day. The program urges voters, "Know Your Rights," and assures them of legal backup if they run into problems voting.

Election Protection's success rests on its ability to excite and mobilize volunteers by drawing on the expertise, networks, and resources of a broad range of organizations.

In 2001, more than 300,000 copies of state-specific voters' bill of rights cards and posters were distributed in elections in Virginia and New Jersey, with more than 1,000 participants distributing Election Protection literature and working at polling places. More than 200 student volunteers from Historically Black Colleges & Universities participated, as well as nearly 200 attorneys and law students who were trained, working hotlines, or available for on-the-ground assistance.

Knowledgeable volunteers handled many problems at the polling places; other problems were reported to attorneys for potential legal action.

Some Election Day problems were reported immediately to the New Jersey Attorney General's office; hotline lawyers referred one complaint to the Department of Justice for immediate attention.

PFAWF's national partners include: