Watch The Vote Consortium Sues To Keep F’ed-Up Philly Polls Open
Philadelphia, PA, April 22, 2008 - Attorneys from the 866 MY VOTE 1/Watch the Vote consortium filed a motion this afternoon seeking relief for Philadelphia voters who may face broken or malfunctioning voting machines this evening. The complaint, filed in Philadelphia Election Court on behalf of Philadelphia residents calls for an injunction to require that the Board of Elections provide voters with emergency paper ballots and extend poll hours in the event of voting machine malfunctions this evening. Citing calls from distressed voters to the 1 866 MYVOTE1 hotline and affidavits from the plaintiffs, the complaint claims that at least five polling locations in Philadelphia County experienced extended voting machine malfunctions that resulted in long lines and voters leaving the polls without casting a ballot. None of the polling locations offered voters emergency paper ballots according to voter complaints.
The hotly contested primary has led to unusually high primary voter turnout exacerbating polling place problems. “The circumstances of today’s election have confirmed Advancement Project’s fears: election officials, by and large, have been completely unprepared today to issue and process emergency ballots, and hundreds of voters have been deprived of the right to vote as a result,”said Kathryn Boockvar, senior attorney for Advancement Project. “This litigation asks the court to remedy this injustice.”
Gregory T. Moore, executive director, The NAACP-National Voter Fund agreed saying, “it is important to take this action to ensure that voters are not discouraged by long lines that are known to disenfranchise voters, particularly minority and low income voters.”
“The right to vote is paramount and needs to be protected. When a voter cannot access the ballot because voting machines break down and long lines ensue, then voters must be guaranteed an emergency paper ballot and polls must be kept open,” said John Bonifaz, legal director for VoterAction.org.
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