To: State Desk

Contact: John C. White of NAACP, 410-580-5125 or Meredith Curtis of ACLU of MD, 410-889-8555 or Kim Alton of Lawyers' Committee, 202-662-8317 or Nick Berning of PFAW Foundation, 202-202-467-2369

BALTIMORE, Nov. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The NAACP, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, People For the American Way Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland have set up a hotline for voters to call in case problems occur on Election Day, Nov. 7. The groups are all part of Election Protection, the nation's largest non-partisan voter protection coalition, and they are working to head off problems similar to those experienced on primary Election Day Sept. 12.

Lawyers will operate from the NAACP Election Day Voter Command Center at the NAACP national headquarters in Baltimore and from Prince George's County.

"There should be no obstacles to voter participation and the NAACP and its allies are standing by to make sure in fact there are no obstacles to citizens who want to exercise their right to vote," said NAACP General Counsel Dennis Courtland Hayes. "We owe it to the many civil rights activists who went to extraordinary lengths to earn the right for African Americans and others to vote. Some lost their lives. Their sacrifices should not be in vain."

Volunteers will observe targeted precincts in the Baltimore metropolitan area, Prince George's and Montgomery counties. From the NAACP Election Day Voter Action Center, lawyers, volunteers and partnering organizations will monitor complaints of voter irregularities and advise voters experiencing problems at the polls. If necessary, this information will be forwarded to the U.S. Department of Justice.

"The 1-866-OUR-VOTE hotline serves as a lifeline to voters and is available now to help navigate our electoral system as well as answer questions about voter eligibility or the location of your polling place," said Jon Greenbaum, director of the Voting Rights Project for the Lawyers' Committee.

"This hotline exists to help you exercise your right to vote," said People for the American Way Foundation vice president Sharon Lettman, who will be stationed in Baltimore on Election Day. "If you run into problems at your polling place, give us a call."

"As calls from disenfranchised voters came in on our Primary Election hotline, ACLU recognized the affront to Marylanders' democratic sensibility and feared a deepening cynicism in our electoral process," said ACLU of Maryland Executive Director Susan Goering. "It is because the right to vote is protective of all other rights the ACLU defends that we are today so proud to join forces with our Election Protection partners."

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law leads the legal program and convenes Election Protection together with the NAACP, the National Bar Association, and People For the American Way Foundation, in coalition with dozens of other national and local partners.

A special teleconference with spokespeople from the coalition will be held from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 3. To participate, reporters may call 1-866-710-9459. The participant code is 886360.

In addition to Maryland, the NAACP will focus on certain precincts in nine other states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia and Pennsylvania. To report Election Day problems at polling places, voters may call 1-866-OUR-VOTE.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

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/© 2006 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/

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