For the 16th year, the SC Progressive Network Education Fund is coordinating the Election Protection Coalition’s ground game in South Carolina by training volunteers and circulating the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline number that helps voters who experience problems at the polls.
Election Protection Coalition, the largest nonpartisan organization protecting the nation’s vote, is collaborating with nonprofits like ours to ensure that all eligible South Carolina voters are able to cast a ballot in the 2024 election.
Network staffer extraordinaire Gabbi Zurlo prepares boxes of Election Protection material to dispatch to NAACP allies in 46 SC counties.
“Calls to the hotline provide the only real-time, nonpartisan statewide audit of our election system,” said Network Executive Director Brett Bursey. “The hotline not only offers voters immediate help at the polls, reports to the hotline also helps us identify and address systemic problems.”
President John F. Kennedy anticipated the difficulty of getting the old Confederate states to comply with the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, so he asked the American Bar Association to form a pro-bono lawyers committee to offer legal aid to help insure all eligible voters’ ballots be counted.
In 2008, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights launched a toll-free number to provide immediate legal assistance to voters through the the Election Protection 866-OUR-VOTE hotline. Spanish speakers can call 1-888-Ve-Y-Vota (1-888-83-9-8682) for assistance.
By calling the hotline, voters can confirm their registration status, find their polling location, and ask about required identification at the polls. Voters are encouraged to report any problems so that any patterns of failure can allow for corrections before the next election.
The Network is partnering with the SC NAACP to distribute the number statewide and to post the hotline in polling sites in all 46 counties.
If you would like to help, you can print out the hotline sign and post it prominently. You can also pick up printed materials, yard signs, and magnetic car signs at our office. Call 803-808-3384 to make arrangements.
