This will probably be a very short diary, but I wanted to let people here know what's going on in PA. I went to vote early this morning, and this is what happened.
I walked in to the polling place, which happens to be my church. I just moved back to the area in the past year, so this was my first time voting here. The process was a little new to me.
When I walked in, there were quite a few people in line, but it was moving quickly. The first person that greets everyone was a nice middle-aged woman. She hands everyone a piece of paper which is a form to fill in everyone's name. The piece of paper with the name gets handed to the people with the signature books so that it's easier for them to find the names in the book. When this woman handed me my paper, she said, "Have your photo ID ready". I looked at her and asked, "But I don't really need it, right?" She responded by saying, "I'm not allowed to say that." My response was, "You are not allowed to tell people the truth and the law?" She said, "I'm just telling you what I was told. You'll have to take it up with the people with the signature books."
I couldn't believe this was happening in my little town. I knew I was going to have to show my ID anyway because I was a first time voter at this polling station. I wasn't expecting this, though.
I've already contacted the Democratic party in my county (Lehigh), and they said my call wasn't the first one they have received with the exact same conversations taking place at other polling stations around the county. They said they are working on it.
I also tried to call 1-866-Our-Vote, but after hanging on the line for quite a while, I was eventually disconnected without ever getting to talk to anyone. Is there anything else that can be done?
7:19 AM PT: Wow, I didn't expect this to be on the rec list. I called the number someone suggested below, 855-834-8683, and left a message. I'm waiting for a call back. I've been trying the FBI hotline, but so far I have not been able to get through. I still haven't had any luck with 866-Our-Vote, either.
Someone in the comments below asked how this could be intimidation if I already knew I was going to need to show my ID as a first time voter at the polling station. My answer to that is the woman telling me I needed an ID didn't know it was my first time at the polling station, and she was telling the same thing to everyone, not just me. My biggest concern was that she said she was told that she was not allowed to tell people they didn't need an ID. That tells me there is something more systematically wrong than just a confused poll worker. That tells me that there is intent to enforce a law that doesn't exist. That's intimidation and it's illegal.
7:43 AM PT: For the people asking where this took place, it was Lower Macungie Township, District 6.
11:49 AM PT: My wife went to vote an hour ago. The same woman was there greeting people, but she did not say a word to anyone about needing an ID. The people at the signature books asked for an ID, but my wife refused and they let her vote without any hassle.
I'm not sure if any authority got them to stop the nonsense from this morning, since I was never able to receive a call back from anyone, but one way or another it looks like they cleaned up their act. Hopefully that continues.