Common Cause sponsoring non-partisan voter hotline, 1-866-MYVOTE1

Common Cause sponsoring non-partisan

voter hotline, 1-866-MYVOTE1

The Common Cause Education Fund is proud to be a key sponsor of a toll-free non-partisan voter alert line, 1-866-MYVOTE1, which will be an integral part of NBC News’ presidential election coverage. Common Cause and a consortium of non-profit, non-partisan organizations are sponsoring the line to provide access to local elections officials, protect basic voting rights, assure a fair and transparent election and identify election system problems.

Voters can call the alert line between now and Election Day to connect to local boards of election to check the status of their registration. And beginning Oct. 26, the alert line will also feature a precinct-level poll locator for callers to find where to vote. Callers can also record a statement detailing their voting experience. Common Cause wants to hear about the positive, the negative and the unusual.

“The information collected from voters about their experience at the polls throughout the country will be invaluable to improving future elections, as well as drawing real-time attention to the most pressing problems of the day,” said Common Cause President Chellie Pingree.

The voter alert line is in response to numerous voting irregularities that were widely exposed in the 2000 presidential election. Despite the 2002 passage of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which attempted to fix many of the impediments to fair and accurate voting, citizens and various organizations are still concerned about the possibility that voters will be denied the right or access to vote. Others are worried that electronic voting machines, which have replaced voting machines in some states, are susceptible to computer hacking and have taken away an essential “paper trail” needed in the event of a recount.

In addition to Common Cause, the voter alert line is funded by the Fels School of Government at the University of Pennsylvania, the Reform Institute, the National Constitution Center and the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University.

Common Cause will team with the Fels School of Government and the Reform Institute after the election to produce joint reports detailing the origin of calls to the voter alert line, along with the problems and accomplishments that were reported.

Common Cause is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to promote accountability, openness and ethics in government. Founded in 1970, Common Cause has more than 300,000 members and supporters nationwide.