Voting for Sandy first responders denied
November 6, 2012 / voting
It has come to our attention that first responders (Red Cross staff, volunteers and utility repair crews) may not be able to vote due to the fact that they left their states to help with the devastation of hurricane Sandy.
Many first responders called the Election Protection Hotline National Command Center Hotline complaining they “will not be able to vote on Election Day because they were deployed to New Jersey and New York, and not able to vote absentee due to their quick response to Sandy. ”
To address this unfortunate situation, Barbara Arnwine, the President and Executive Director of Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, wrote a letter to the Governors of New York and New Jersey addressing the concerns and calling for every effort to be made for the first responders to be able to exercise their fundamental right to vote.
According to Ms. Arnwine, she was told that one Hotline caller said “there are 8,000 out-of-state workers in New Jersey, .. and if procedures are not implemented to allow them to vote, they will go home and not return to the relief efforts in New Jersey.”