NAACP
Voting Status Update
Dear Friend,
It's Election Day, and our Election Protection hotline has been ringing since the minute the polls opened. As of 10am,
over 12,000 reports have been logged. Most of the reports involve faulty or inadequate voting equipment and polling
place issues, but we have also logged 115 incidents nationally of voter intimidation
In Virginia, where the NAACP filed a lawsuit to keep the polls open longer, we are seeing several problems. More groups
are joining the call to keep the polls open two hours later tonight. There are reports of massive voting machine
failures, over two dozen precincts opening late, people being turned away, and voter intimidation.
In Michigan we have received calls about malfunctioning voter machines in at least ten precincts, causing extremely long
waits. Unfortunately, the waits are causing some people to give up and get out of line. We will continue to monitor the
situation in Michigan throughout the day.
And in Florida, we've just received a slew of reports about broken optical scanners and extremely long lines. We also
just received a call that absentee ballots were not received at a rehab center for elderly residents.
We'll be here at the Command Center all day to respond to voting problems in real time. In addition, the NAACP has
trained poll monitors strategically placed across the country to monitor 750 precincts where there has been a history of
discrimination, and the NAACP Voter Relief team is driving between polling places in the Baltimore/DC/Virginia area
offering coffee, water, and snacks to the voters standing in long lines.
And if you haven't voted yet, get out there and make your voice heard!
Sincerely,
Kirk Clay
Director of Civic Engagement
ENDS