The vote is shaping up in interesting ways nationally, especially as the new polls begin to reflect Obama's surge from the last couple of days and his brilliant campaign closing. But many people, including those of us here in the thick of it, worry about the possibility of Pennsylvania becoming this year's Ohio or Florida, with a disputed and litigated vote that could be used to steal the election.
This is not tin-foil hat territory, either. There were serious problems with machine breakdowns and long waits in many areas during the primaries and there's no sign that the machine problems have been fixed. Nor are some of our officials living up to the reputation we've come to expect from the Nutter administration, as the video over the fold shows:
But the problem is not going unchallenged. A successful joint lawsuit by Voter Action and the NAACP has forced the use of emergency paper ballots if more than 50% of the machines in a polling location fail. This is an excellent outcome, as it means we'll have a good chance of getting all the vote in for the city and potentially a good part of it on paper rather than the DRE machines we're still stuck with.
That means we've got to do all we can to get out the vote and make sure it gets cast and counted. The first and most important thing is to know your rights as a voter. Two good resources can help with that, and the city has been kind enough to chip in too, as I'll show you. The two resources are the PA Voter Protection page from the Obama campaign and the Pennsylvania Voter Protection Laws in a Nutshell guide (in .pdf) from the Advancement Project. The chip-in from the city is a handy little mailer (see pictures below) sent around to every registered voter, as election boards do in many states; it's a good test of the registration system, flawed as it may be, and whether voters get the basic info that they need to vote (but it should be noted that I've been on the rolls and active in the same place for years, so I'm a bad test.)
Here are pictures of the front:
And the back:
Two of these arrived, one for my wife and one for myself. It's a surprisingly good piece of voter information. It has all the basics a voter should need to know; registered address, voter number, ward and division numbers (like precincts most places), polling place and address, and poll times. It even has basic information on what to do in case of problems or disputes on the back side of the mailer. It's a remarkably good piece of work that probably traces it's completeness to the efficiency of the Nutter administration. So despite a dismissive public official (but hopefully not two) it looks like the city may be doing a bit better. It's also pretty clearly not a caging device, since the thing that appears in bold, underlined, all-capitals directly under the Voter Registration Office's address is:
This is clearly meant to follow the voter wherever his/her mail does, not to try and question voters who've moved. One of the sections on the back even deals directly with the question; it makes clear that voters get one more election at an old address without having to re-register after a move. So no nefarious purposes behind this effort from the Voter Registration Office.
So here's my first piece of voter protection advice: if you received one of these cards (and you should have if you're a registered voter in Philadelphia, and I'm betting all the other counties have similar mailers and legal reasons for sending them), then take it with you to the polls. It serves as an extra verification not only of who you are, especially if you have one of the approved forms of ID that corroborates the card info, but also that you do have a claim to status as a registered voter in the place where you are trying to vote.
It also wouldn't hurt to bring your voter registration card, if you have one (or can still find it.) I still carry mine every day in my wallet, as a reminder of a citizen's rights and responsibilities (corny as that sounds, I know) but having it at the polling place is another way to cross-verify voter information and thus protect your right to cast a ballot. Keep in mind though, that this card is neither an acceptable official ID nor is it legal proof of the right to vote. Here's a shot of my card, old and wallet-worn as it is:
Take it from an historian: you can never have too much documentation!
All these documents and mailers are hopeful signs that Philadelphia and Pennsylvania voters won't be disenfranchised by caging or other registration shenanigans on November 4th, but that doesn't mean we're out of the woods yet. There have been attempts at intimidation here in Philadelphia already and suppression or machine tampering is still quite possible. That means we can't let down our guard and trust to public officials as the only barrier against efforts to steal this election.
Thus the need for our vigilance at the polls come Nov. 4th and the launch of this diary series: my wife and I have volunteered as Official Poll Watchers for the Obama campaign in Philadelphia, where as AdamB reminded us a few days ago there is a critical need. It's time to be a bigger part of the solution than just making calls, blogging and giving money. Tonight my wife and I are attending a training session for poll watchers and on the 4th we'll be on the front lines of keeping the vote in Philadelphia safe and fair.
I'll be updating this series with a new diary every evening through Nov. 5th to document the voter protection efforts here from the ground up. Tomorrow night's diary will cover our VPT class (that's Voter Protection Training; sounds almost like EMT, doesn't it) and the preparation efforts of the Obama campaign for voter protection.
If we have enough citizen eyes watching and enough people paying attention at the right places, we can make sure that our vote in not stolen, ignored or suppressed.
Not this year, not this place, not this vote.