Election Protection again helped to ensure voters were able to cast meaningful ballots on May 6^th, the last major primary day of the 2008 cycle. The trend of record turnout continued as voters went to the polls in Indiana and North Carolina.

The Lawyers’ Committee and DLA Piper US LLP set up a call center in New York City, where legal volunteers answered calls from both primary states through the 1-866-OUR-VOTE Hotline. Along with coalition partners the Brennan Center for Justice, NAACP LDF, Democracy North Carolina, and other partners, Election Protection volunteers worked with election officials on the ground in Allen, Bartholomew, Clark, Elkhart, Howard, Lake, LaPorte, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Rush, St. Joseph, Vanderburgh and Vigo counties in Indiana and Durham, Mecklenburg, Orange and Wake counties in North Carolina.

Early in the day Indiana’s strict voter ID law emerged as a significant issue, with Election Protection receiving reports from across the state from voters who were turned away from the polls. Students, members of the armed services, and even a group of retired nuns were not allowed to cast a ballot due to the burdensome law recently upheld by the United States Supreme Court.

IDs were not the only issue of the day. Voters in both states reported problems with machine breakdowns. In Indianapolis, a school teacher couldn’t wait in the long line resulting from a machine breakdown and was unable to vote. A caller from North Carolina was told that the machine at her polling location was broken, and that her ballot might not be counted.

Registration problems were again an issue, as voters called 1-866-OUR-VOTE to report that they were not listed despite having registered by the deadline, or that they were listed under the incorrect party.

Inadequate poll worker training aggravated such situations, as workers in both states weren’t aware of or did not follow correct procedure. Some turned away voters without offering provisional ballots, while others incorrectly represented the ID requirements in their state.

Indiana

The photo ID issue came into play in one of the most memorable incidents of the day. A freshman at a local private college, who was voting for the first time, was reduced to tears when poll workers informed her that her private college ID was insufficient identification for her to cast a ballot. Lawyers’ Committee board member and Election Protection leader John Borkowski happened upon the situation and began discussing the problem with the poll workers, nuns from a local convent. During this conversation, they indicated that some of their fellow nuns also could not vote because of the photo ID law.  Not only was this student disenfranchised, but so would be many of the retired nuns at the convent. Borkowski said, "The law definitely had the effect of preventing many people who were highly motivated to participate in this primary election from exercising their right to vote.  It seems very ironic to me that a law intended to prevent voter fraud prevented members of a single community, essentially a family, who have lived together for years, from accepting the votes of their own sisters."

Confusion about voter ID requirements in Indiana threatened to prevent a registered member of the military from voting-a caller reported to Election Protection that poll workers refused to accept his current U.S. Military ID, claiming that it was insufficient identification. Fortunately, the caller was able to speak with a precinct judge who corrected the poll workers.

Other issues reported in Indiana included:

• Election Protection encountered problems with absentee ballots. Voters at a nursing home in Hancock County, Indiana received incorrect absentee ballots-residents who had requested Democratic ballots received Republican ballots, and vice versa.
• Machine breakdowns continued to disenfranchise voters. One caller reported a precinct where all electronic voting machines had stopped working, but the poll workers were not offering paper ballots. Many voters left without casting a ballot, including the caller who waited for over an hour.
• Confusion caused voters to leave without casting a ballot at a polling location which utilized a private parking facility. Voters had to go through a gate to park, but it was unclear how a voter should leave the facility since a code was required for exit. Election Protection was able to assist voters by speaking with the Inspector, who agreed it was a problem, and was able to provide the code to and EP volunteer for dissemination.
• Disorganization was also an issue. Election protection received multiple reports of polling places open late and long lines due to organizational issues. In one instance, a poll opened late because the Inspector was not familiar with the area and had to be guided to the location by a Circuit Court Clerk. In another, a voter reported a polling site where the power cord to the machine had not been delivered as of 11 a.m.

North Carolina

Election Protection was prepared and assisted voters on the ground with Mobile Legal Volunteers in Durham, Mecklenburg, Orange and Wake counties, and a Command Center, through the support of Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP, in Charlotte. Early in the day, legal volunteers sprung into action when a caller reported that a poll worker came outside and announced at 6:20 a.m. that there were no ballots and voters were sent away. Election Protection followed up and discovered that the polling place had the ballots in a box but had not opened it. Volunteers quickly notified the caller who was able to vote.

An issue that has occurred throughout the primary season, problems with party affiliation, affected North Carolina voters on May 6^th.  Despite the fact that North Carolina law allows registered voters who are unaffiliated with the Democratic or Republican parties to vote in either primary, multiple callers who were registered as Independents reported that poll workers incorrectly turned them away. One voter was told that she could only vote in a non-affiliated district judge election. Election Protection advised her that she could vote in either primary election provided that she was registered.

Election Protection also received reports of voters being registered with the wrong party, including a caller who claimed to be registered as a Democrat, but was informed by poll workers that she was listed as a Republican and was not able to vote for her candidate. In another instance, voters reported receiving Republican ballots despite being registered as Democrats.

Other reports in North Carolina included:

• At one location, officials announced that they ran out of Democratic ballots and they would be closing the polling location. Election Protection contacted the County Board of Elections to fix the situation.
• Election Protection received multiple reports of registration issues. One voter was turned away for not being registered, but had done so at the Department of Social Services in March, prior to the April 11 deadline.
• Call center volunteers assisted numerous voters who had recently moved and were confused about where they should vote.  Volunteers were able to walk callers through the complex rules and helped them locate the right polling location.