RICHMOND, VA -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia will have its hotline open tomorrow for voters who run into problems at the polls during the presidential primaries. The hotline will enable voters to contact someone at the ACLU if they feel they have been illegally denied the right to vote. The ACLU hotline number is 804/644-8080.
The most frequent complaint received by the ACLU is from voters who are not allowed to vote because they are not carrying proper identification. The ACLU encourages voters to bring their IDs to the polls, but if they do not have one, or have forgotten to bring it with them, most are still entitled to vote by completing an Affirmation of Identity form. Because this is a federal election, some voters may be required by federal law to show ID. However, even those voters are permitted to vote by provisional ballot, if they do not have an ID. ACLU experience shows that voters often do not know they have a right to vote without ID and that poll workers often do not inform them of that right.
“Every registrar and poll worker should go into Election Day with the goal of making sure everyone who is qualified to vote has an opportunity to cast a ballot,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis. “What we frequently hear from voters is just the opposite. They feel like poll workers put obstacles between them and the polling booth.”
Some useful information voters should have:
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