Protecting Voter Access in the November 5th General Election
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights concluded our 2024 nonpartisan Election Protection effort during the November 5th General Election, mobilizing call center volunteers who answered more than 1,000 Illinois and Indiana voters’ calls to the 866-OUR-VOTE hotline. In addition to running the hotline, our team also deployed field volunteers who assisted voters across nearly 400 polling places in Chicago and six Illinois suburban counties. As part of this effort, we partnered with Count US Indiana to hold our first legal field program in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
As part of our work protecting voting rights for our incarcerated community members held in pre-trial detention, we conducted non-partisan voter protection for eligible voters in Cook County Jail, Will County Adult Detention Facility, and Lake County Adult Corrections Facility in Illinois. We partnered with organizations on the ground to share know-your-rights information to community members returning from incarceration in Marion, Allen, and St. Joseph Counties in Indiana.
Amid a tumultuous election cycle marked by voter disinformation and stigmatization, our team reaffirmed our commitment to providing reliable, nonpartisan information and caring for each voter we encountered.
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee provided reassurance and advocacy in the face of voter worries and intimidation. During early voting, we advocated to authorities and also monitored in person after receiving a report of intimidation caused by White supremacists. There are no easy answers when some actors cause fear to voters and also antagonize hardworking election administrators, especially when a law enforcement response does not sufficiently resolve the problem. Voter intimidation is illegal and every voter has the right to a safe voting experience. Our team is proud to have been able to support voters during this unfortunate situation by communicating the situation to officials and ensure voter access was protected.
Early on Election Day, significant challenges emerged in various areas, including system errors in Chicago. One system error that impacted numerous voters posed barriers for registration and caused confusion and frustration. While collaborating with authorities to resolve the issues, our volunteers responded to questions from voters and helped them navigate the process to ensure they could still vote.
In Champaign County, voting began more than two hours late countywide, due to technical issues. Chicago Lawyers’ Committee, in partnership with Common Cause Illinois, advocated to authorities on this issue. Despite the severe outages, the county withdrew their request to extend polling place hours. Our organizations heard the frustrated responses from voters and shared updates about polling closing times, encouraging voters to exercise their right to stay in line.
In addition to these broader impacts, other notable challenges included:
Reports of voter intimidation in Hamilton County, Indiana, including the waving of candidate flags outside of a polling place and individuals yelling inappropriately, causing discomfort for voters. We worked with Common Cause Indiana to provide support to affected voters and successfully advocated to local election authorities to address the issue.
Voters denied entry to an Indianapolis, Indiana, polling place because they wore shirts with non-partisan speech such as a rainbow shirt or a shirt with the message “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights,” with local election authorities responding that third-party actors were the ones who misinformed and blocked voters. We worked with Common Cause Indiana to deploy support in the field and advocate to authorities.
A handwritten sign on a suburban Illinois polling place door misdirecting voters to the wrong address of a different polling place. Field volunteers worked with Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights to advocate to authorities and direct voters to the correct address.
Widespread technical issues at a polling place in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, which was unnerving for voters. Call center and field volunteers worked with authorities and voters to address the problem, monitoring the site and confirming with authorities that new equipment and technical support were on their way.
We wouldn’t have been able to serve thousands of voters for this general election without the tremendous support of our staff, pro bono volunteers, and captains. Election Protection is truly a people-powered initiative. We are grateful for our continued collaboration with partners including Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Taft Law, University of Chicago Law School, Common Cause Illinois, Common Cause Indiana, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights, Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago, Chicago Votes, CASA Blue Island, NAACP Chicago Far South Suburban Branch, United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations, Delta Sigma Theta Chicago Alumnae Chapter, Count US Indiana, Hoosier Asian American Power, REFORM Alliance, Indianapolis Urban League, and more.
This election also marked the last Chicago Lawyers’ Committee Election Protection effort led by our Senior Counsel, Cliff Helm, as he starts a new chapter and moves on to a new position. Thank you, Cliff, for your many years of stellar service to Chicago Lawyers’ Committee and communities in Chicago and beyond!
Thank you to all of our volunteers and partners for being a part of our team this election. New barriers are likely to emerge, creating even more urgency for solutions at a systemic level. Every Election Protection effort helps us learn directly from voter experiences on the ground and informs our fight for justice going forward. Together, we will continue this important work protecting voter access and the right to a free and fair election.