VOTER PROTECTION HOTLINE

By Lynne R. Snyder
Member of Placer DCC Governance and Resolutions Committees

Our friend Lynne Snyder volunteers with the California Democratic Party Voter Protection Hotline and we thought you’d be interested to ‘hear’ some of the questions she was asked during the recent election period…

“My daughter left me her ballot to mail for her and she went back to college. But the problem is that she signed my ballot envelope and I now have her ballot envelope. “

“I cannot find Democratic Party endorsements for Justices of the State Supreme Court or Court of Appeals.”

“Who are the Democrats running for Community College trustees?”

“There is so much political mail filling up my post office box that the post office said they will ‘return to sender “my own important mail”

“Who is the Democrat running for Sheriff?”

“Who are the Democrats running for water district seats?”

“What is the meeting schedule for Democrats in my County and where do they meet?”

“Who are you really and who pays for this voter information line?”

“I live now at a different address and did not receive a vote by mail ballot.”

“When I used a Dropbox at 9:00pm, there were two trucks with men and Trump flags yelling at me. “

“The election is tomorrow. I appreciate all your help. In answer to your question about how am I going to vote my ballot, I was just going to drop it in the mail. Is that a problem?”

“I have moved several times around the state into elder care facilities depending on which one of my relatives is caring for me at a particular time. I am 91 years old and it is very important to me to vote. This may be my last vote. I have received no ballot in the mail.”

The statewide California Democratic Party Voter Protection Hotline ensures that voters, of any party, receive accurate information in a timely manner to enable and protect the Vote. The Hotline goes live three weeks before Election Day and has become the model for such programs in each State. Information is shared with the State and National programs that provide poll monitors and track poll site incidents.

The questions above are representative of Voter interactions I had during my daily shifts on the Hotline for these midterm elections. My calls averaged 30 minutes per voter. I did many full ballot reviews with individual voters which included State and Local candidates and State and Local ballot measures. The length of ballots varies County by County.

It is particularly satisfying to share my experience with how government works, how the Party is structured, election rules, and deep dives into propositions in these ‘one to one’ voter contacts.

Democracy is always on the ballot.