Protect the Vote: 1-866-OUR-VOTE

There are rumors swirling that GOP operatives may attempt to suppress the vote tomorrow by slowing things down at polling places as they mount large-scale challenges to potential voters. As we know, the GOP machine appears ready to do almost anything, no matter how bogus, to try and win, legal or not. Be forewarned and ready to fight back.

Today, the NMI reports that, "A local private investigator was contacted by a man recruiting on behalf of the Republican National Committee, looking for private investigators to advise poll challengers on election day. The investigator, David O’Niell, says he’s worried that RNC may be using private investigators to help with so-called vote caging, a method of vote suppression."

So, keep an eye out tomorrow for "dirty tricks" at your polling place -- and follow this advice from Common Cause if you spot or experience anything odd:

If you are heading to the polls tomorrow, please be sure to take this number with you: 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683). This national, toll-free election protection hotline can help with any voting-related questions or problems you might encounter.

Before going to vote, please be sure to:

* Find out in advance where your polling place is. You can call 1-866-OUR-VOTE to find your polling place and confirm your registration, or look up your voting location here.
* Know what you need to bring to the polls. Check out our website for state-by-state voting information.
* Give yourself plenty of time to vote. Lines will likely be long in many places. 

You can help Protect the Vote by passing the 1-866-OUR-VOTE hotline number on to everyone you know who will be voting tomorrow. The national election protection coalition, which Common Cause is proud to be part of, is committed to making sure every eligible voter is able to cast a ballot, and every ballot is counted accurately. If there are problems on Election Day, we want to be able to get to the bottom of them as fast as possible.

Also, Common Cause will hold an hour-long briefing call on Election Day at 5:30pm eastern time for all members and activists to talk about what we're hearing and seeing around the country. We'll have representatives from our national office on the line to talk about big-picture trends, and our staff who are on the ground in states like Ohio, Florida, Colorado and North Carolina to give reports from the field. 

Please RSVP now, and we'll send you the toll-free dial-in information. We will take questions at the end of the call; however, please do not wait for this briefing call if you have a problem to report. Call the Election Protection hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE to relay any problems in your area.

Thanks for all you do,

Susannah Goodman
and the rest of the team at Common Cause

P.S. Here are a few more ways that you can help Protect the Vote tomorrow:

* TwitterVoteReport.com: Use your Twitter account, cell phone or any touch-tone phone to report on your voting experience. It's easy -- click here for more information about how to "Tweet Your Vote".
* MyFairElection.com: Rate your polling place and your experience of voting. Your rating and those of other voters will produce a real-time map of voting conditions throughout the country on November 4.