(Washington, DC) - The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights won a lawsuit this afternoon against the Baltimore City Board of Elections that will extend polling place hours in Baltimore to 9:00 p.m.
The lawsuit, NAACP v. Board of Elections of the City of Baltimore, was filed on behalf of qualified voters such as Bobby Trotter, Sr., who arrived at his polling place at 7:05 a.m. to vote but was not able to because the poll was not open. "Given my work schedule, without this extra hour I would not have been able to return to cast my ballot," said Trotter. "I will return to vote after I finish work later today," added Trotter.
Lawyers' Committee staff was first alerted to the widespread problems in Maryland through the Election Protection Hotline (1-866-OUR-VOTE). The hotline received an overwhelming amount of calls from Baltimore voters experiencing a variety of problems such as: polls not open on time; voting machine problems; no back-up paper ballots; absent poll workers; and long lines. The Lawyers' Committee filed an emergency complaint and request for relief in order to extend polling place hours.
"We are committed to fighting for the right to cast a ballot throughout our nation. Today's victory in Maryland represents an important component of our many efforts to ensure that voters are able to exercise their right to vote," said Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee. "The high level of calls we received today seeking voter assistance is alarming and underscores the need for the Election Protection Program," added Arnwine.
Election Protection is the nation's most ambitious non-partisan program for preventing Election Day disenfranchisement. The coalition of state and national allies seeks to ensure that every eligible voter casts a ballot that counts on Election Day.
The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to provide legal services to address racial discrimination.
For more information on the Lawyers' Committee, visit us at www.lawyerscommittee.org
The lawsuit, NAACP v. Board of Elections of the City of Baltimore, was filed on behalf of qualified voters such as Bobby Trotter, Sr., who arrived at his polling place at 7:05 a.m. to vote but was not able to because the poll was not open. "Given my work schedule, without this extra hour I would not have been able to return to cast my ballot," said Trotter. "I will return to vote after I finish work later today," added Trotter.
Lawyers' Committee staff was first alerted to the widespread problems in Maryland through the Election Protection Hotline (1-866-OUR-VOTE). The hotline received an overwhelming amount of calls from Baltimore voters experiencing a variety of problems such as: polls not open on time; voting machine problems; no back-up paper ballots; absent poll workers; and long lines. The Lawyers' Committee filed an emergency complaint and request for relief in order to extend polling place hours.
"We are committed to fighting for the right to cast a ballot throughout our nation. Today's victory in Maryland represents an important component of our many efforts to ensure that voters are able to exercise their right to vote," said Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee. "The high level of calls we received today seeking voter assistance is alarming and underscores the need for the Election Protection Program," added Arnwine.
The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to provide legal services to address racial discrimination.
For more information on the Lawyers' Committee, visit us at www.lawyerscommittee.org
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