November 3, 2008

Are you ready for Election Day?
Some advice from the ACLU of Pennsylvania

Where can I get help on Election Day?
Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE or 1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (Spanish). ACLU of PA staff will be assisting the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline.

I have heard that police will arrest people with outstanding warrants, traffic tickets, or unpaid bills when they show up to vote. Is this correct?
NO. The law is clear. Pennsylvania law forbids police from coming within 100 feet of a polling place during an election. The only exceptions are when officers are there to cast their own votes and when police are called in by the Judge of Elections to restore order at a polling place. Don’t be afraid to go to the polls and cast your vote!

What should I wear to vote?
Each county makes its own decision about whether to allow voters to wear candidate t-shirts, buttons, and stickers into their polling places. The ACLU-PA believes that voters have a First Amendment right to choose what to wear when they vote. However, we recommend that voters who do wear candidate t-shirts or other apparel bring a jacket or other item that they can use to cover up the political message if they are told that they cannot enter the polling place because of what they are wearing. It is better to cover up a political message than to be turned away from the polls or to cause delays at polling places! Go ahead and vote; then report problems to 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

Where can I get basic information about voting rights and procedures?
Our website contains resource guides on voting issues in English, large-print English, Spanish, French, Vietnamese, and Khmer/Cambodian.

Know a high school senior who’s an activist?

The ACLU will be selecting 16 high school students to receive a scholarship in the amount of $12,500 each, to be issued at the start of their freshman year in college. In addition to the monetary award, the scholarship program also includes a leadership development feature. Students must be nominated by the state affiliate. Application deadline is December 5, 2008.

For more information about the scholarship, contact the ACLU of Pennsylvania’s Youth Scholarship Coordinator, Sara Mullen, at smullen@... or 215-592-1513 x122.