PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY
The attached document is a voting rights flyer for New York State voters. It is particularly geared toward minority communities, though it applies to all voters. It is important that this information gets to as many voters as possible. Many voters do not know their rights, and do not know where to turn when those rights are violated. We hope that this flyer will help all voters cast their votes easily and fairly.
Please print out as many copies as you need (double-sided if possible, to save paper and make it easier to use), and distribute them every time you do voter registration, get-out-the-vote, and other campaigning. Bring piles of them to your events. Email it to all of your friends and colleagues, and ask them to distribute it, too! As I'm sure you know, this is the last weekend before the NY voter registration deadline (October 10)!
We hope to have a hotline phone number soon, and will send a new flyer with that information when it is available. But please do not wait for that - it is important to get this information to as many voters as possible as soon as possible. The NYDLC website (www.nydlc.org) is on the flyer, and this version and any updates will be on our website, for download, so if people ask, you can tell them to check the website later for the hotline phone number.
We also plan to have the flyer translated into Spanish and (possibly) several other languages, so please let me know if you would like those, and I'll send them to you when they're ready.
And please remember...
After all of the tireless hours and months of voter registration, get-out-the-vote, and other important campaign efforts, we must be sure on Election Day that all of the people we've reached actually get to cast their votes! One valuable way to do this is with voter protection. Many problems happen at the polls - poll workers that are overworked or undertrained, broken voting machines, long lines, names not on voter lists - and you can be there to resolve these problems, as they otherwise often result in votes not being cast.
You do not need experience, and while lawyers are critical to our efforts, you do not have to be a lawyer, to do voter protection. All you need is a couple of hours for training before Election Day, and a few hours or a day to volunteer on Election Day. Here are the details...
The Obama campaign is launching an unprecedented Voter Protection effort in this year's historic election. We need lawyers and others who are interested in protecting our most fundamental right to vote, while having a rewarding volunteer experience in which you really help your community. Opportunities are available before and on Election Day, and any time you can give will be greatly appreciated. It is especially helpful to have poll watchers who also speak Spanish and other languages, since there is often a shortage of interpreters and non-English materials at polling places.
The New York Democratic Lawyers Council (NYDLC), in coordination with the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee, is organizing this Voter Protection effort. Campaign poll watchers can work inside polling sites, allowing greater access to notice and address problems as they arise.
To volunteer in New York State, people can sign up at www.nydlc.org. For any other state, please sign up at www.mybarackobama.com/counselforchange. Those who sign up will be contacted by the local state Obama Voter Protection Coordinator about the details of training and placement, and will receive training, a legal guide to resolving common problems, and hotline support from election lawyers. New York lawyers will get CLE credit for the NY training. There will be a significant NY operation because of important US Congressional and State Senate races.
Please spread the word that volunteers should sign up now! If anyone has questions about voter protection, including procedures and why it is so important, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you!
Debbie
Debra S. Cooper
Chair, Minority Voting Rights Committee
New York Democratic Lawyers Council
A Voting Rights Project of the New York State Democratic Party and the DNC
debra.cooper@nydlc.org
917-806-6495 (cell)
www.nydlc.org
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