One thing to watch in Colorado...

Overuse of provisional ballots.

According to Election Protection Officials, including Common Cause Colorado, many counties are immediately driving voters to use provisional ballots at any sign of a discrepancy.  Protocol is for poll workers and election officials to call their County Clerks to double check the database.

There has been reports of voter intimation early on in Weld County, were police officer were checking IDs and camped out in primarily Latino Voter Precincts.  Also at Colorado College.

Colorado Independent has been keeping good track of problems in Colorado.

As I reported earlier things have been going well in North Carolina.  

We have poll monitor programs in Wake, Guilford, Durham and Cumberland counties and they have not heard major problems from voters leaving the polls.

This year North Carolina so far is a model of what to do right.  Election Board officials had a voter education campaign explaining the ballots to voters, which aided in past issues about voting straight ticket (in NC you have to vote for President in addition to voting straight ticket).

Relatively low lines and minor problems is due in large part to the fact that over 40% of the state voting prior to Election Day.  Many of the major counties like Wake (Raleigh) and Mecklenburg (Charlotte) had over 50% early vote turn out.  This has aided election administration officials tremendously.

Generally things have been quiet on the Western front with a few hiccups.  Many voters have had to vote on provisional ballots because of the voter purge confusion or not showing up on voter rolls despite knowing they registered.

One major hiccup coming from Weld County.  There have been reports from Hispanic voters leaving polling location without voting because information is only provided in English ONLY.  Most of the voter information, including ballots were not translated into Spanish.  Some voters have waited at their polling location until a family member arrived that could translate this information.

I experienced something similar in 2006 in Iowa, where I had to translate the entire ballot for a family that could only read in Spanish. There were no pollworkers that could speak Spanish or materials translated.  
Colorado unlike Iowa does not have an English only law.

Colorado blog Square State has more information.

Not even rain can keep people from showing up to the polls.

So far, things have been going relatively smoothly in North Carolina.  We have not seen the machine malfunctions like we did in 2004.  

Most problems today have been from voters showing up to their polling location and not appearing on the voter rolls but they have been able to cast provisional ballots.  There have been a handful of locations mostly in Raleigh where polling locations opening late.  

One particular precinct in Raleigh had several caller into 1.866.OUR.VOTE that reported power outages causing the polling location to open late, people leaving the location and not having enough ballots on hand.

Thanks to the great leadership of our Common Cause North Carolina, Executive Director Bob Phillips!

Sergeant Roger Murtaugh to the rescue...

Over the weekend over 325,000 robocalls dropped (which you can listen to on the Common Cause homepage) in Pennsylvania and Virginia to combat the deceptive practices our people on the ground had been hearing.  Common Cause partnered with actor Danny Glover to get calls into cities that have been targeted by voter suppression tactics.  

We heard a report from the Election Protection hotline from a woman in Pittsburgh who received a suspicious phone call claiming to be from one of the campaigns.  The caller told her to vote, gave her what she later learned was the incorrect polling place, and hung up abruptly.  The woman checked her caller ID said it was from another source than what the caller claimed, which she thought was odd.  The woman then received a recorded message from Danny Glover warning of attempts to confuse voters and provided Election Protection hotline number--which she promptly called. She got the correct polling information and was able to report the suspicious phone call.

The goal of the Glover calls is to alert voters to potential deceptive information they may be receiving, encourage them to vote on Election Day and to call the Election Protection Hotline 1-866-OUR-VOTE.  We are glad we could help one family in Pittsburgh and thank you again to Mr. Glover for helping us Protect the Vote.

Last night on NPR All Things Considered also reported on the Glover robocall.

Over the last few weeks voters rights advocates have been gearing up for problems and challenges on Election Day but they have also been in courts prior to E-Day to reinstate purged voters, resolve ID issues, demanding additional emergency ballots and other problems that have popped up around the country.

Already voter advocates can claim several victories  and lawyers are disseminated across the country thanks in part to the great work set in place by the Election Protection coalition.  Over 100 national, state and local organizations (including Common Cause) have joined together to create the largest non partisan voter rights advocate coalition in the county working to create equal opportunities for voters to participate in the political process.  The Election Protection Hotline (1.866.OUR.VOTE) has also been up and running since August providing information to voters with concerns about their polling location, absentee ballot requests and reports of voter intimidation.  

I have joked with my co-worker Tova that she has reached her limit on court victories for voters. Every time I see an email with the subject line: Good News, I breathe a sigh of relief. It certainly has been good news for us who want to ensure that every eligible voter gets to vote on E-Day and all votes are counted.

Talking Points Memo had a good summary of some of the top litigation stories across the country on Thursday as well as the Wall Street Journal. And for continuous breaking news on litigation happening around the country clck here.

This weekend I traveled to my home state of Texas and had the opportunity to observe a polling location in Dallas where a couple of my friends went to vote early.

It was a HOT Sunday afternoon (I MEAN HOT--in the upper 80's) and the line was already well out the door--growing up in Texas this was rarely the case, especially for early vote.

Despite the long line, it moved quickly thanks to the polling location being prepared with plenty of machines and provisional ballots.  Inside and outside the voting room, poll workers were on hand to explain how the machines worked and troubleshooting any questions that arose.  One of the poll workers was waiting outside the door asking every voter if the pushed the RED button to ensure their vote was counted.

But this location went one step further to make sure this was also a positive voting experience for first time voters.  Every time a new voter came into the voting room one of the poll workers called everyone to attention and yelled out "WE HAVE A FIRST TIME VOTER HERE!!" and proceeded to lead the room in cheering the voter on.  They room erupted in applause, whooping and hollering and it trickled down the voting line.

I had the opportunity to talk with a couple who brought their 18 year old daughter to vote in her first election (it reminded me of my own experience of taking my mother to vote for the first time after she became a U.S. Citizen).  They were all smiles and glowing and gave their daughter a huge hug after she walked out.  They were amazed by the reception they received and asked me if this happened everywhere, which it should!!

I certainly didn't experience the first time I voted, but I can almost guarantee because this young woman's experience was so positive she will be a lifetime voter!