Make sure to know your voting rights

For most of us, the 2000 election debacle in Florida centered on pregnant and hanging chads, but tens of thousands of voters didn't even get that far. Instead, they were purged from the voting rolls by the state because their last name and the first four letters of their first name matched those of a known felon.

People on this list, largely black people, often didn't even have the same birthdate as the felons they were alleged to be, but they were considered guilty unless proven innocent.

And what's worse is that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is trying to do it again to 48,000 Floridians this year. This is despite the fact that the computer expert who created the felon purge list called it flawed and urged the state to "pull the plug," and despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that the list had surprisingly few Hispanic felons, who tend to vote Republican in Florida. You might think that deliberate attempts to disenfranchise voters are a thing of the past, but similar attempts have cropped up this year in Ohio, Georgia and elsewhere as well.

The Help America Vote Act of 2002 -- the congressional response to Florida's woes -- was supposed to fix these problems. It didn't. The American Civil Liberties Union wrote of the bill, "This legislative cure to the severe voting rights problems seen in the 2000 Presidential election could be even worse than the disease." Hence, the punditocracy is furiously debating what state will be "the new Florida." However, with the right information, you can protect yourself from those who would seek to deny you your voting rights. To that end, I offer a brief guide to voting in Pennsylvania.

1. Where to vote: To vote by regular ballot, you must vote in the election district where you are registered. You can determine the district in which you are registered by checking your voter registration card or by calling the Philadelphia Voter Registration Administration (215-686-1500 or 215-686-1505). If you know where you are registered, check www.mypollingplace.com to find your voting location. Also, if you have moved since you last registered, you do have the right to vote in your old precinct after signing a written affirmation of your new address.

2. When to vote: Pennsylvania polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. If you are in line to vote at 8 p.m., but are still waiting to cast your ballot, you have the right to vote. But with high turnout expected, please consider voting early in the day.

3. Voting ID: HAVA requires that those casting their vote in an election district for the first time present proof of identity. Approved forms of identification include photo IDs such as a student ID (your PennCard works), a Pennsylvania driver's license (but not one from another state), employee ID or any other governmental photo ID. Alternately, you can use non-photo identification such as a voter registration card, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows both your name and address.

You are not required to show ID if you have previously voted in the election district in which you are registered, even if the polling location for that district has changed. You are not required to show your voter registration card or to present multiple forms of identification. That said, it is still advisable to bring your voter registration card and a photo ID with you when you vote.

4. Provisional balloting: HAVA requires states to offer provisional ballots alongside regular ballots. These are paper ballots that voters have the right to cast if they do not have ID or if they are not on the rolls at the polling place where they believe themselves to be registered. Within three days, election workers will confirm that the voter is a qualified elector and then count the ballot if appropriate.

In Pennsylvania, HAVA has been interpreted to mean that, if you mistakenly vote in the wrong district, the offices that you vote for on your provisional ballot that are also on the ballot of your correct district will be counted for the correct district. However, elsewhere, the law has been interpreted to invalidate provisional ballots cast in the wrong district. While such ballots in Pennsylvania should be counted, litigation is likely, and you should make every effort to ensure that you are voting at the right election district.

5. Complaints: One of the lessons learned since the 2000 Florida debacle was that stopping voter disenfranchisement and intimidation requires a rapid response. To this end, a number of voter protection programs and hotlines have been established to deal with voter questions and problems. Call the Voter Alert Line (1-866-MYVOTE1) to report problems or the Election Protection hotline (1-866-OURVOTE) for immediate legal assistance. You can also call the Philadelphia election watchdog group, the Committee of Seventy (215-557-3600), or the Pennsylvania Department of State (1-877-VOTESPA). If you are not allowed to vote, please call and get help.

Know your voting rights. Protect your voting rights. Exercise your voting rights. Perhaps then we can at least keep Pennsylvania from being "the next Florida."

Kevin Collins is a junior Political Science major from Milwaukee. ...And Justice For All appears on Tuesdays.

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