WASHINGTON, DC (March 10, 2020) – Voters in six states, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Washington, and Idaho, voted in their respective state’s primary elections. Election Protection, the nation’s largest and longest-running nonpartisan voter protection coalition, fielded complaints by way of its 866-OUR-VOTE hotline from the time polls opened to the time they closed. In addition, Election Protection volunteers in the field helped to troubleshoot and resolve problems faced by voters. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law leads the Election Protection coalition.
As of 9 pm EST, the Election Protection hotline fielded several hundred calls from voters across the six primary states. The majority of the calls came from voters in Missouri and Michigan. Most issues raised by voters concerned polling place, voter registration, and ballot issues.
“In light of the tremendous uncertainties arising from the COVID-19 crisis, we urge that states do everything within their powers to make sure that all eligible voters can vote, including liberalizing to the fullest extent possible the use of absentee ballots and easing deadlines,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “States must move with all deliberate speed to ensure that all voters have full access this election season.”
As was the case in previous primaries, voters experienced problems with electronic poll books, polling place changes, and poll worker and election official instructions. Additionally, as global awareness and concern for a public health crisis grows, so do the implications for the country’s election infrastructure.
Specifically, Election Protection identified a number of problems:
- Public Health Crisis: Across Missouri and in some isolated areas in Michigan, election officials closed, changed, or consolidated polling places as a response to the COVID-19 virus. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, election officials moved a polling place from an assisted living facility to a church, likely to facilitate greater access and safety. However, in other cases, election officials did not sufficiently notify voters of the changes, leading to voter confusion.
- Electronic Poll Books: Election officials informed Election Protection that St. Louis County had problems with their e-poll vendor. Voters at multiple polling places were affected by the equipment failures.
- Election Official and Poll Worker Training: In St. Charles County, Missouri, multiple voters were improperly required to provide photo ID. Due to litigation in 2019, Missouri’s strict photo ID requirement was nullified. As a result, voters are permitted to cast a ballot with multiple forms of identification even if they do not possess a photo ID.
- Long Lines: Long lines were observed in places like Kalamazoo, Michigan where students and others took advantage of Same Day Registration and faced one-to-two hour long waiting periods as officials were ill-prepared for the turnout. Lines were also observed in Fargo, North Dakota, where voters waited in similarly long lines in freezing weather during the latter part of election day.
- Social Media: Numerous postings on social media sites, such as Twitter, sought to discourage older voters from turning out to the polls stating, for example, “All you elderly voters should stay home and avoid the coronavirus.” Social media companies must address activity on its platform that can have a chilling effect on segments of the electorate.
Growing concerns about the COVID-19 had an observable impact on our elections. On Super Tuesday, poll workers failed to show up in Harris County, Texas. This week polling sites in St. Louis County, Missouri experienced the same issue. In advance of next week’s primary, Ohio election officials have already begun changing polling locations across the state, moving away from senior living centers with a large concentration of the elderly. Among those most impacted by COVID-19, will be the elderly and low-income communities, groups for whom access to the ballot can easily be deterred.
Election Protection’s non-partisan suite of hotlines including 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683), 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682), 888-API-VOTE (888-273-8683), and 844-YALLA-US (844- 925-5287) provided multilingual support to voters. Throughout this election season, the Election Protection coalition will be actively working to ensure that every voter has the right to cast a ballot and have that ballot count.
For more information, contact: press@lawyerscommittee.org
