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Seventy sets up voter ID hotline

Voters urged to call 1‐866‐OUR VOTE (1‐866‐687‐8683) to learn about PA’s new Voter ID law.

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PA VOTER ID COALITION KICKS OFF VOTER ID HOTLINE

Voters urged to call 1‐866‐OUR VOTE (1‐866‐687‐8683) to learn about PA's new Voter ID law

PHILADELPHIA – April 11, 2012 – The Pennsylvania Voter ID Coalition, comprised of statewide, regional and city organizations conducting a non‐partisan campaign to educate voters about the state's new voter ID law, urges all voters to direct questions about voter ID to a national, non‐partisan hotline: 1‐866‐OUR‐VOTE (1‐866‐687‐8683).

"Voters are hearing about the voter ID law and asking if it applies to the April 24 primary," said Zack Stalberg, President and CEO of the non‐partisan Committee of Seventy, which is convening the coalition. Stalberg underscored that the voter ID law – which requires all voters to show a photo ID every time they go to the polls – will go into effect for the November 6 general election. Although polling place officials are required to ask voters to produce a photo ID for the April 24 primary, they can still use the voting machines without one.

More details about the voter ID law are available at www.seventy.org/voterID

Stalberg predicted that calls to 1‐866‐OUR‐VOTE (1‐866‐687‐8683) will escalate as the April 24 primary gets closer and will spike again in the fall. "The hotline will be kept up and running," he said. "The coalition wants every voter, regardless of their political affiliation or the candidates they support, to understand what they need to do to vote on November 6 and for all future elections."

Stalberg encouraged anyone with ideas about how to get the word out about voter ID to call the hotline or to reach out to the coalition on Twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/PAVoterID or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/PAVoterIDCoalition/403831659629393.

Finally, Stalberg noted that the 1‐866‐OUR‐VOTE (1‐866‐687‐8683) hotline is part of the Election Protection Hotline, which is sponsored nationally by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and used by the Committee of Seventy in its Voter Protection Program for each year's primary and general elections. On and before April 24, in addition to responding to questions about Voter ID, trained hotline volunteers will help voters in the Greater Philadelphia region find their polling places, give basic assistance with Election Day rules and take information about problems at the polls. Non‐partisan volunteers recruited and trained by Seventy will be visiting polling places on April 24 to resolve problems reported to the hotline and transfer more serious issues to law enforcement officials. Stalberg said that Seventy will be releasing more details about its Voter Protection Program shortly.