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Although millions of people have already voted, plenty more are expected to stand in line at their local polling places tomorrow. Sure, Republicans relied upon voter suppression tactics in 2016, but this time, the president has issued multiple calls to action to his supporters, requesting that they serve as “poll watchers” tomorrow. While poll watching is a legal and legitimate part of the election process (read more about that here), what Donald Trump suggested—that his followers just show up at the polls to “watch” (and thereby intimidate) voters—is not.
If you find yourself being harassed or intimidated by one of these self-appointed election hall monitors—or official poll workers, or anyone else—remember that you do have the right to vote and there are steps you can take to ensure that you get to exercise that right. One of those is calling a voter protection hotline. Here are a few of your options.
Voter protection hotlines
If you’re looking for information on some of the most common voter suppression scams and techniques we’ll likely see tomorrow and what to do if you’re turned away from the polls, we’ve covered both topics extensively already. Here are some of the voter protection hotlines you’ll want to have at the ready (or even save in your contacts now):
The Election Protection Coalition
This national, nonpartisan organization, administered by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, has voter protection hotlines in a variety of languages:
- English: 866-OUR-VOTE / 866-687-8683
- Spanish/English: 888-VE-Y-VOTA / 888-839-8682
- Asian languages/English: 888-API-VOTE / 888-274-8683
- Arabic/English: 844-YALLA-US / 844-925-5287
For information specific to your state, use this interactive map.
State and local election offices
Though these aren’t dedicated voter protection hotlines, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to speak with someone at your state or local election office, you can look up those phone numbers here.
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The Democratic Party
Over the weekend, President Barack Obama posted a handy graphic on Instagram, providing national voter protection hotlines, as well as those for each state:
That national number—1-833-DEM-VOTE (1-833-336-8683)—is monitored by Democratic National Committee employees 24/7 who are ready to field questions pertaining to felon disenfranchisement, voter purging, poll worker misconduct, voter machines, accessibility and more.
The rest of the phone numbers are voter protection hotlines operated by each state’s Democratic Party. They were compiled into this graphic by Vote Save America—the same organization that offer the Bring Your Own Ballot tool, as well as a range of other information, including ways you can still volunteer today and tomorrow.
The Republican Party
The Republican National Committee does not have the equivalent of the DNC’s voter protection hotlines, and doesn’t provide much in the way of contact information in general. The RNC’s publicly listed phone number is 202-863-8500, though that appears to be more of an office number than a hotline.
You may have better luck reaching out directly to your state’s Republican Party’s headquarters; they should be able to point you in the right direction. For example, the Republican Party of Arkansas has reported that so far, they’ve received reports of “minor issues, but nothing outside what was expected.” There doesn’t appear to be a list of the Republican parties in each state, but just Google “[your state] + republican party” and you should find it.
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