Voters, know your rights

MANY POLITICAL and election experts say that today's vote will be the most important in decades. And they acknowledge that Pennsylvania is a pivotal state, and so may be the target of dirty tricks designed to depress turnout, misdirect and harass voters, or otherwise deny us our right to vote.

The key is to be an informed voter. Know your rights, and defend them. Report abuses. The 1-866-OUR-VOTE hot line will be available throughout Election Day to advise you and, if necessary, provide lawyers to defend you. It also will help detect problem trends around the state. Here are some important principles and practices to remember.

EVERYBODY votes between 7 a.m and 8 p.m. (6 a.m. to 8 p.m. in New Jersey.) If you get a flyer, call, fax or e-mail saying you're to vote on Wednesday instead of Tuesday due to expected high voter turnout, it's not true. Elderly, disabled and minority voters have been targeted by such campaigns in the past.

Learn where you vote, how your voting machine works and confirm your registration. The Pa. Department of State's Web site (VotesPA.com) can provide this info. To find your polling place, near the bottom of the page go to "Where is My Polling Place?" Click on "Find out now" and provide the requested information.

To confirm you're registered, at the top left of the page click on "Register to Vote," then go to the bottom of the page, click on "confirm your registration status," then click on "voter registration database" and provide the requested information.

If you want to know how your voting machine works, go to the "Voting System Demos" area when you enter the Web site, click on "Find your system now," then click on your county name and view the video. If you still have problems, call the hot line.

Students can vote at their college addresses if they're registered there. If political operatives at your polling site or elsewhere say you'll lose your financial aid if you try to vote in your college town, it's not true. If you are legally registered in your college town you can vote there with no repercussions.

Required ID. If you're a newly registered voter OR voting at a polling place for the first time, you'll have to present a photo ID or an alternative ID, like your voter-registration card, utility bill, bank statement or paycheck with your name and address on it.

Never leave the polling place without voting. Election officials cannot send you away without letting you vote in some way. If the machines are not functioning properly, election officials MUST offer you an emergency ballot. If your name has not been included in the poll book when you go to sign in, or you have forgotten the required identification, election officials MUST offer you a provisional ballot.

Be sure your vote is counted. If you vote on an electronic voting machine, after verifying that the machine has recorded your vote correctly, be sure to push the VOTE button and don't leave until the machine is clear. Otherwise the pollworker is required to nullify your vote.

Electioneering at the polling place. You are not permitted to do anything inside the polling place to influence another person's vote. While election officials may not wear shirts, caps or buttons supporting candidates, voters may do so.

However, some election officials have been known to violate this right, so you may want to cover up or leave such campaign-wear in your car or at home.

Former convicts who have served their sentences can vote. It's the law in Pennsylvania.

Anyone who is not in prison for a felony conviction on Election Day can vote, including people awaiting trial or on probation.

Absentee ballots must have been requested by Oct. 28 and delivered by Oct. 31. It's too late now, but those are the rules.

If you had wanted to vote by absentee ballot, you had to be sure it was delivered to the county election office by the end of October.

Special procedures are required to get an emergency absentee ballot if you've become ill or otherwise unable to vote at the polls during the intervening four days.

Alternative languages. If you live in Philadelphia, Lehigh, Berks, Lebanon, Lancaster or York county, ballots will be provided in Spanish upon request. Philadelphia also has ballots in some East Asian languages.

Help at the polls. If you are having trouble operating your voting machine or do not understand the process, ask an election official for assistance.

If you are disabled, you are permitted to have a family member or friend (as long as it is not your employer, union officer or a judge of elections) assist you in the polling booth.

While few people encounter serious problems, they do happen often enough to require special attention. If anyone violates your rights or otherwise attempts to infringe upon your right to vote, keep copies of any offending communications, get as many details as you can about offending individuals and provide them to the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hot line.

Voting is the most precious right of every citizen. It is the way we as citizens unite to select our leaders - and hold them accountable for their actions.

So know your rights. Protect your rights. Be sure to vote today, Election Day. *

Barry Kauffman is executive director of Common Cause/Pennsylvania.