RICHMOND , VA. The Virginia State Conference of the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia are distributing informational cards to Virginia voters and have established hotlines for voters who run into problems on election day.
The double-sided palm-sized "voter empowerment" cards describe the rights of voters under Virginia law once they reach the polls. The hotline will enable voters to contact someone at the NAACP or the ACLU on Election Day if they feel they have been illegally denied the right to vote. The NAACP hotline number is 804/321-5678. The ACLU number is 804/644-8080.
The decision to inform voters of their rights and to provide assistance on Election Day stems from the experiences of the NAACP and the ACLU during elections. "We are concerned that some voters are turned away from the polls because they are not fully aware of their rights under Virginia law," King Salim Khalfani, executive director of the NAACP in Virginia. "Voters with the empowerment card in their hands will know their rights and be able to assert them on Election Day."
"If the cards don’t provide the answer to their questions,” added ACLU of Virginia executive director Kent Willis, “we’ll have experts standing by our telephones to assist them. We are even prepared to go to court when it’s feasible.”
The empowerment card lists important rights that voters have under Virginia law, many of which are not widely know. Some examples are:
Copies of the voter empowerment cards--for individuals or groups--are available without charge by contacting the ACLU of Virginia or the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP. A copy can be viewed and downloaded at www.acluva.org.
Contacts: Kent Willis, Executive Director, ACLU of Virginia, 804-644-8022 King Salim Khalfani, Executive Director, Virginia State Conference NAACP, 804- 321-5678
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