Protect your vote on Election Day, call 800.792.VOTE (8683) if you have or see proble

[Anne Barron]

Dear Newark!

Help protect the ballot on November 3rd. If you experience a voting problem, call the non-partisan Voter Protection Hotline 800.792.VOTE (8683) for help.

The ACLU-NJ/LWVNJ Voter Protection 2009 will be out in full force on November 3 assisting voters.

Call if you need assistance voting, have a voting question or see a problem at the polls…ACLU-NJ and LWVNJ staff and volunteers will be on hand to help.
Voter Protection 2009 will also be assisting voters at the polls and courts, as well as on our hotline. Volunteers and staff from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and League of Women Voters of New Jersey will provide advice and, when possible, legal assistance at many election courts. Look for our volunteers in the blue aprons.

Know your rights on November 3, Election Day.
If you are not allowed to vote at the polls-
You have the right to petition a judge to vote. Non-partisan lawyers will be available at many court houses to represent you at no cost. Call our hotline if you need legal assistance in election court. The Department of Public Advocate will also have attorneys available to represent you in many counties.
If you don’t have time to go to your county election court, demand a provisional ballot. Poll workers are supposed to give these paper ballots to anyone not permitted to vote…”When in doubt, give it out!”
Your provisional ballot won’t be counted if your name is not in the county’s voter registration system. It will register you for the next election.

If someone asks you for ID- you are only required to show ID if you are voting for the first time in your county AND you didn’t provide enough identification when you registered to vote. If you don’t have the required ID at the polls, you have 48 hours to bring it to your county clerk so that your provisional ballot to be counted.
Only a poll worker can talk to you or ask you for ID inside the polls. If a political challenger questions you directly, complain to the poll worker at your polling place. If your right to vote is challenged by an official challenger, ask the poll worker for an affidavit, which you will sign to confirm your identity or address. The worker will allow you to vote either on the machine or by a provisional ballot.

If your polling location is not open when you arrive, call our hotline at 1-800-792-VOTE (8683) or the Division of Elections at 1-877-NJVOTER to alert officials to the problem. Polls are open 6 a.m. - 8 p.m.

If you applied for a mail-in ballot but didn’t receive it before the election, you have the right to vote provisionally at your polling place.

If you are not sure the machine counted your vote, ask the poll worker to check that the machine is accurately working. Did you press the “X” on the bottom right of the touch screen after you made your selections? Did the poll worker prime the voting machine before you voted? Does the number of voter authorization slips match the number of voters for your voting machine? Call our hotline to report the problem.

Your call is important. All the information collected by the ACLU-NJ/LWVNJ Voter Protection Project is used to help improve New Jersey elections and voting.

NEW JERSEY VOTERS’ BILL OF RIGHTS ON ELECTION DAY:

􀀵 To vote without anyone trying to influence your decision.
􀀵 To bring your children into the voting booth with you.
􀀵 To file a signed or anonymous written complaint at your polling place if you are dissatisfied with the way the election is being run.
􀀵 To bring someone of your choice into the voting booth to assist you with voting if you cannot read or write English or have a physical disability. You can also request special assistance from the poll worker.
􀀵 To vote by an emergency paper ballot if the machines are malfunctioning. Emergency ballots are counted automatically.
􀀵 To be given a provisional ballot if you are not allowed to vote on a machine or by emergency ballot, with written instructions
about your provisional ballot and how to find out if it was counted. Your eligibility to vote must be verified by the county before your provisional ballot is counted.
􀀵 To vote under your original name if you have changed your name since registering to vote.
􀀵 To ask for assistance from a poll worker.