00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:10.000 Our Homes, Our Votes: 2024 Webinar Series – Overcoming Voter Suppression 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:14.000 and Building Confidence in Elections – November 4, 2024 Live captioning by 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:18.000 AI-Media COURTNEY COOPERMAN: Hi, everybody, welcome. 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:23.000 As you come in, feel free to share your name and where you are calling 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.000 from in the chat. Today is that it -- 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:32.000 the day before election plan. We ask you to share if you have voted, 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:34.000 and if you have not, 00:00:34.000 --> 00:00:36.000 what your plan is to vote. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:39.000 Please introduce yourself 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:45.000 in the chat as we are waiting for people to come in from the waiting room. 00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:51.000 I see Lisa from Wisconsin, voting by mail. 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:56.000 I am in DC and I dropped off my ballot in a dropbox at a library 00:00:56.000 --> 00:00:59.000 . DC makes it really easy for us. 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:07.000 Denise from Boise voted early. Andre from 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:10.000 Miami voted by mail. Ella from South Carolina voted early. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:16.000 Lisa from Michigan voted by mail. John from Brooklyn voted early. 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:21.000 They are coming in very fast. (Laughs) it is great to see such a wide 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:28.000 range of voting options. We will give it another 30 seconds or so 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:33.000 as people come in from the waiting room. Feel free to continue introducing 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:38.000 yourselves, where you are from, whether you voted or your plan to vote tomorrow, 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:44.000 or vote early today. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:53.000 I am also seeing some people that have volunteered, that is great to hear. 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:58.000 I think the entrance from the waiting room is slowing down but of course, 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:03.000 feel free to continue introducing yourselves in the chat and share your 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:07.000 voting planner whether you voted already and how you voted in the chat 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:11.000 throughout the webinar. We will go ahead and dive right into 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.000 things. For those of you who are new to the 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:20.000 webinar series, my name is Courtney Cooperman, I use she/her pronouns, I am 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:25.000 the project manager of NLIHC Our Homes, Our Votes campaign. Happy election day 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:30.000 evening, I don't know if people say that but I will say it. Thank you so 00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:35.000 much for choosing to spend your afternoon before election day with us 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:40.000 on our second to last Our Homes, Our Votes 2024 webinar. Our topic today is 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.000 total miced -- Overcoming Voter Suppression and Building Confidence in 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:46.000 Elections. If you're turning into the webinar 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:51.000 series, for the first time today, I encourage you to check out the archive 00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:56.000 of our past webinars on the website. We have had 14 webinars up until today 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:01.000 and there's been a lot of wisdom shared from many panelists and attendees, as 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.000 well. Feel free to keep introducing 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:09.000 yourselves in the chat as you are going along and to engage with each other in 00:03:09.000 --> 00:03:15.000 the chat regarding your voting plan. We can go on to... This is the correct 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:18.000 slide. Just to give a framing of what we will 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:22.000 discuss today, deliberate voter suppression tactics such as restrictive 00:03:22.000 --> 00:03:26.000 voter ID laws, tend to disenfranchise members of the same community center at 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:29.000 disproportionate risk of housing insecurity and homelessness. 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:33.000 Misinformation about the voting process can also discourage voters from casting 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:38.000 their ballots and survivors of domestic violence can face a unique set of 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.000 barriers to voting safely and comfortably. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:44.000 This webinar will cover ways that you can empower community members to 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:49.000 overcome these obstacles at the ballot box, understand the voting process and 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:51.000 go into election day with confidence. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:55.000 It is an honor to introduce Kat Calvin, the founder and Executive 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:57.000 Director of Spread the Vote/Project ID. 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:02.000 C Jay Coles, deputy director of legislative affairs, at Verified Voting. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:06.000 In Lyndsey Dearlove, global director of operations at NO MORE Project. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:13.000 I will also just 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:17.000 give a note that today's webinar does touch on the difficult subject of 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:21.000 domestic violence. We are likely to have\ -- lucky to have 00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:27.000 Lyndsey from no more, 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:33.000 so we understand that if tuning out or logging off is appropriate for you, we 00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:37.000 completely understand that and always prioritize what you need to do to take 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:41.000 care of yourselves. We will have the presentation, and have 00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:46.000 Q&A at the end and a few closing announcements about what you can 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:50.000 continue to do to be involved with Our Homes, Our Votes. 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.000 Before we get started, just a few housekeeping items. First, the webinar 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:58.000 is being recorded. We will send out the recording in the 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:06.000 links shared in the chat in this week's edition of our Friday email newsletter, 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:11.000 The Connection, and that recording will be posted on the YouTube channel 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.000 by the end of the week. We also have closed captioning enabled, 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:20.000 thank you to the captioner for being here today and for your hard work. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.000 Please ask questions for the panelists using the Q&A feature throughout the 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:27.000 webinar. With so many people attending, and such 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:32.000 lively conversation in the chat, it can be harder to catch the questions for 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:38.000 the panelists, so we are more likely to notice them in the Q&A. Speaking of the 00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:42.000 chat, we ask everybody engage thoughtfully and respectfully in live 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:47.000 by the platinum rule: treat others the way they want to be treated, even if 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:53.000 that is different from the way that you want to be treated. Last but not least, 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:58.000 a reminder that Our Homes, Our Votes is 100% nonpartisan, meaning that we do 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:01.000 not endorse or favor specific candidates or political parties. Our 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:06.000 goal is to build the voting power of low-income renters so we can hold all 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:10.000 elected officials accountable to prioritize housing justice. With that, 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:15.000 I will pass it along to Kat to get us started. KAT CALVIN: Thank you, hello, 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:20.000 everybody, I am Kat Calvin, I am founder and ED of Spread the Vote/Roger 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:23.000 tidy--Project ID. Year-round we help people get a 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:28.000 government issued photo ID, 26 million American adults do not have ID, which 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:34.000 they need for a variety of things as well as you all know, housing. We both 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:38.000 directly help people get all the documents they need for their IDs, get 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:45.000 to the DMV, etc., do what he can get -- we can to get idea in their hands and 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:49.000 we work with organizations and agencies across the country treating them and 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:55.000 helping them to set up their own ID operations, to be able to help their 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.000 clients and communities get ID. Sneak preview, we will be announcing 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:03.000 this Wednesday, we are next year launching an incubator 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:08.000 to help people who want to start their own ID organizations, have a year-long 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:13.000 intensive program to be able to help them do that. Our goal, generally, is 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:17.000 to close the ID gap. During elections we also through Spread 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:22.000 the Vote do a lot of voter education and turnout work. We have a program 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:25.000 called Vote by ai m Mail in Jail, 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:30.000 a program to help incarcerated voters vote. We were in 60 jails across the 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.000 country, so we do programs like that, and we do 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:39.000 a lot of work helping the Navajo nation be able to get out the vote in 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:41.000 getting with our clients and community that are unhoused. 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:45.000 That is what we do. I was asked to give some last-minute 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:46.000 GeoTV 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:49.000 tips to help you get out 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:52.000 the vote the last little more than 24 hours 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:54.000 . 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:58.000 There's a lot of things, although we are moving more towards 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:01.000 having an early voting season, which I love her. 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:09.000 We need, 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:13.000 we don't need a federal holiday, we need long voting seasons but we have 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:17.000 that a lot, a lot of people vote on election day or turn in their 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:20.000 last-minute ballots because they forgot to mail to,, 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.000 even though they were sitting on the kitchen table for the last three weeks 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:27.000 until tomorrow. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:32.000 There are several things that you can do either for yourself, or a lot of you 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:35.000 have communities, tenants and even families, etc., who are 00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:39.000 working to vote and when we are thinking but election day voting, 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:45.000 there's a couple of things that come up. One, the ability to get to the 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:47.000 polls. Transportation is always a challenge, 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:52.000 particularly for folks that are in rural areas, in areas that do not have 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:56.000 a lot of public transportation, if they don't have their own transportation, 00:08:56.000 --> 00:09:00.000 etc. One of the things that we try to do and 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:05.000 encourage folks to do is just make sure that anyone you are talking to about 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:11.000 voting actually has a way to get to the polls. And whether it is that they need 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:17.000 help with a bus pass or a ride where we often end up doing last minute finding 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:21.000 ADA accessible transportation for folks, really thinking about making 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:25.000 sure that when we are talking about voting, we're talking abut having the 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:30.000 capacity and ability to actually do that it is really important. I am so, 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:36.000 as we are talking to your tenants and folks, that is a really key question to 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:39.000 ask. Can you actually get to the polls? If 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:43.000 not, let's figure out how to do that. The other thing that people have to do 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:47.000 is be sure that they are turning in their ballots. Every state has 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:50.000 different rules. We have a website I will put in the 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.000 chat, read the directions.com, and it's how to mope -- vote by mail appropriate. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:56.000 Every state has different roles -- rules, 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:59.000 does it have to be postmarked on the day 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:06.000 of election day, 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:10.000 etc., if different per state and it's important to know the state rules 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:15.000 because if you're talking to somebody at 10 AM and they say they have to mail 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:19.000 in the ballot, that you know that you need to have it in the mailbox by four 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:23.000 or seven or what the particular rules are. Do a quick check for your state. 00:10:23.000 --> 00:10:28.000 You can go on this website, or really if you just at this point if you Google 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:32.000 is giving you the answer because everybody is asking. Or ask chappy -- 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:36.000 Chat GPT. Make sure you know what the little -- 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:39.000 rules are. When you're talking to folks one thing 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.000 that particularly young people forget 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:47.000 all of the time is to sign the back of their envelope when you are turning in 00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:52.000 your ballot. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:58.000 Especially if they mailed it in three weeks ago they can get a call from the 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:04.000 County Clerk and come in and fix it. If they mail it in tomorrow, they may 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:09.000 not have the chance so making sure they are paying attention to what the little 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:14.000 rules are, which are usually the reason that people get their ballots thrown 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:19.000 out and young people are five times more likely to get their ballots thrown 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:24.000 out, People of Color are three times more likely and a lot of times it's 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:29.000 because if they are a first-time voter or voting by mail for the first time 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:35.000 also, a lot of states have created extra rules like you have to include a 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:39.000 picture of ID and all of these different things. When you're helping 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:43.000 things -- people felt their ballot, especially if it is election day, 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:49.000 there's a lot of panic because you've got to get it done today. Be sure that 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:55.000 you know what that little rules are in your state so that you can advise them 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:58.000 appropriately. The other thing a Porton to know is 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:02.000 whether or not your estate is a same-day registration state. 21 states 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:07.000 plus DC actually have same-day voter registration so they can go to the 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:12.000 polls if they are not registered, register there and vote right there. Do 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:19.000 a check, find out if your state is one of the 21 states or if you are in DC, 00:12:19.000 --> 00:12:23.000 that way you can advise somebody if they say they'd have not registered, 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:30.000 you can say that it is OK, you are in California, you can go to the polls and 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:33.000 register to vote today. That is fantastic news and hopefully we 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:38.000 can get that up to 50 states or more in the future but right now we have almost 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:42.000 half the states where you can register same day. That is especially helpful 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:46.000 for folks who are more at risk. Our organization we work with a lot of 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:50.000 unhoused folks in Los Angeles, where I live part time, I kind of move, but 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:54.000 there are two polling places in skid Row where our folks can go and register 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:58.000 and vote that same day in person. That's important if you are unhoused. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:02.000 Knowing the rules in the states, is important, do a quick check to see what 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:07.000 the rules are so that when people ask you can know the answer. 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:12.000 Also because it is impossible for any of us to know the answers, there is an 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:14.000 organization that does. The lawyers committee for civil rights, 00:13:14.000 --> 00:13:18.000 they are always one of my favorite organizations but during elections they 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:24.000 are incredible. Their phone number 866-OUR-VOTE, 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:28.000 any questions you may have tomorrow or today or even after the election, if 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:34.000 you have anyone 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:39.000 who is having challenges at the polls, getting rejected who you don't think 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:43.000 should be, any issues at all, call 866-OUR-VOTES. They are super staffed 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:47.000 with lawyers on election day. They are there to answer questions, 00:13:47.000 --> 00:13:53.000 they are there to do rapid response, they are there to be able to support 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:55.000 you., when you have problems on election day. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:14:00.000 If you remember nothing else, remember that number. Tell everybody that number 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:05.000 and if there is any issue or any question you do not know the question 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.000 two, call the lawyers committee, 866-OUR-VOTES they are so good. I am 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:15.000 pretty sure you could text them now and also the website is 866 our vote.com 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:18.000 are something. They are the best 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:23.000 election day emergency resource, this is what they do and they do it really 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:27.000 well. You hear it all the time, back when 00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:30.000 Twitter was Twitter, 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.000 remind people to stay in line. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:34.000 We have had unbelievable 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:41.000 record 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:46.000 early voting turnout, which we can see because everybody in a chat early 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:51.000 voted, but there will be a lot of people who are showing up to vote 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:56.000 tomorrow and there will be really long line. It is so important to remind 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:58.000 people 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:02.000 to stay in line. We say at every election and you think 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:07.000 people know but they don't. Or they get tired and cold. In Arizona, 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:11.000 it is freezing. We got to move election day till June. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:14.000 There's long lines and remind people to stay in lines. 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:20.000 If your organization or whoever you're with is trying to think of one of the 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.000 last went -- minute ways we can help, look for the 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:38.000 polling places that are closest to your housing unit or your organization, 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:43.000 and be there to support folks, to talk to folks, order pizza. If you really 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:49.000 want to support and help people, if you are in Georgia, do not to any of those 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:54.000 things because you will go to jail. In an every other state including 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:59.000 Texas, take water, pizza, be there. We have a program called Comfort at the 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:03.000 Polls, it's about people knowing that they can stay. There's often people, 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:08.000 particularly in certain areas, that will try to intimidate people try to 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:14.000 tell them that it is 7:01 PM you have to get out of line, etc. There's a lot 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:19.000 of people in a lot of organizations that are going red temples and making 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:23.000 sure that they are supporting people. You can always be supporting people 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:26.000 supporting in line. Really, that is 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:30.000 – Pizza to the Polls is so great. Best idea ever. Any organization 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.000 involving pizza, I am all for it. Really the top thing, 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:40.000 I will close with this, thinking about people who are going to the polls today 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.000 and tomorrow, is really just thinking about how can you make your -- 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:49.000 sure they have the best information and can get there and stay there? We 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:54.000 often will have 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:58.000 people who have little kids and they cannot carry them and we will have 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:03.000 volunteers, sweetest old ladies and will watch the kids while they are at 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:08.000 the polls and things like that. As you think he about your communities 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:12.000 and how you can support. Being there to listen and answer 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:16.000 questions and being there to help problem solve is huge and helping them 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:22.000 do that as early in the day as possible, so they are not in line until 00:17:22.000 --> 00:17:28.000 late, but the communities we serve also are often, sorry my dog is mad he is 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:32.000 not inhere, the communities we serve often face a lot of different 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:35.000 challenges. Everything from left they are working, 00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:41.000 if they have a boss they -- that lets him leave, they only have two hours or 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:45.000 whatever, whatever you can do to help support them. And really critical, to 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:51.000 not shame folks if they cannot vote. It is really hard for some folks, and 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:56.000 we talk all the time that you have to vote and it's your vote, 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:00.000 and blah blah blah, and is true, but there's some people who realistically 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:05.000 they cannot overcome all of the challenges to get to the polls, so I 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:10.000 think it is really important that we make sure that we are being as 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.000 accepting and kind to those folks as possible. Partially because that is the 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:20.000 way that is the right thing to do, and partially we don't want them to feel 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:25.000 better that they don't try to vote in the next election if we're lucky enough 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:26.000 to have one. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:30.000 Maybe they just can't. I'm happy to answer any questions at 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.000 the end. COURTNEY COOPERMAN: Take you so much, 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:38.000 really appreciate all the inspiration and guidance of what we can do in the 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:41.000 24 hours. We appreciate the work you're doing to 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:47.000 get out the vote and support people in the year and beyond. I am going to pass 00:18:47.000 --> 00:18:51.000 it over to see Jay -- C Jay. 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:57.000 C JAY COLES: I am going to share my screen let's see if technology is in my 00:18:57.000 --> 00:19:00.000 favor today. Hopefully you can all see that. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:03.000 Is that working? COURTNEY COOPERMAN: Looks good. C JAY 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:05.000 COLES: 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:08.000 Thank you. Thank you Courtney, and the coalition 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:12.000 for inviting me and Verified Voting to be here today. Great presentation 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:13.000 Kat, 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:17.000 great information for everybody to remember as we head into tomorrow 00:19:17.000 --> 00:19:23.000 in the days that followed tomorrow. 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:27.000 A little bit about me, in my organization. Verified Voting, we are 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:32.000 national nonpartisan nonprofit organization and we are 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:37.000 a voting rights organization and we have a little bit of a niche in the 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:40.000 market, as it were. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:43.000 Who is Verified Voting? Our mission is to strengthen democracy 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:48.000 for all voters by promoting the responsibility use of technology in our 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:51.000 elections. We were founded in 2004 by a group of 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:55.000 computer scientists who had sums --some concerns about emerging electronic 00:19:55.000 --> 00:20:10.000 technology at that time, 00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:17.000 . 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:21.000 I was invited here to talk more broadly about election security and 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:25.000 what happens with your ballot, as it enters the election administration 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:30.000 ecosystem, and why you can have confidence that your ballot will be 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:36.000 counted once it enters that ecosystem. A little bit about me, and why I hear. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:41.000 I am a former election director, I was election director for a midsize county 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:46.000 in the state of Oregon for a period of time. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:50.000 Oregon is vote by mail and we conducted elections by then, and you 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:56.000 can show up and cast your mail ballot in person but only one polling location 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:01.000 and that is the County election office. We were all a vote by mail, 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:06.000 vote by mail state, and I have experience at conducting elections and 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:10.000 have some knowledge about what goes into counting the ballots and reporting 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:13.000 the results. Why can you have confidence that your 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:17.000 ballot will be cast? First of all, because of the ballot 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:21.000 handling procedures that are required in each state. There are strict 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:24.000 protocols from once the ballot is either 00:21:24.000 --> 00:21:29.000 mailed to the voter or is given to the voter at a polling location, strict 00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:34.000 protocols in place of how that ballot is handled, what happens to the ballot, 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:41.000 and how it is secured so it is counted as the voter is cast. 00:21:41.000 --> 00:21:47.000 You probably have heard this term, a lot in the next 48 hours, chain of 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:50.000 custody. What is that mean? That is the process 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.000 by which once the voter receives their ballot, the processes 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:59.000 and procedures in place to ensure that the voter gets the ballot, they voted 00:21:59.000 --> 00:22:02.000 and once they enter back into the ecosystem, 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:06.000 however they do that, either mailing aback, dropping into the dropbox, 00:22:06.000 --> 00:22:08.000 showing up in voting in person, 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:13.000 with the procedures and processes are to ensure that nothing happens to the 00:22:13.000 --> 00:22:17.000 ballot that should not happen. 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:21.000 There are checklists that have to be signed off on, literal checklists, 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:26.000 where checkmarks have to go, election workers have to sign paperwork. once a 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:30.000 ballot is transferred from location to location, maybe goes from a precinct 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:35.000 and then heads to the section count location. There is paperwork that goes 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:40.000 along with the ballots that are being moved from one place to the other. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:42.000 All of this documentation is required 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:53.000 to be a part of essentially that election. 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:57.000 Once the election is over, inspections and postelection audits take place and 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:02.000 I will talk about that in a moment. The chain of custody records all that 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:04.000 need to be 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:09.000 inspected, and they line up in the processes and procedures as outlined in 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:12.000 law and/or regulation are followed appropriately and if not, what 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:16.000 remedies? How is equity be remedies? 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:23.000 There's processes in place, 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:27.000 backups to the backups, in every election place in the country. That is 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:32.000 what chain of custody refers to, all about put together to protect your 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:36.000 vote, to protect your ballot. Another reason you can be confident 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:42.000 that your ballot 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:47.000 will be counted as cast and secure is voting system testing. Every 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:50.000 jurisdiction across the country participates in logic and accuracy 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:53.000 testing. That is a test prior to the election 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:58.000 where a bunch of test ballots have been marked and run through the system 00:23:58.000 --> 00:24:01.000 to verify that this system will produce, 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:10.000 the results will mirror what is on the ballots, as they are put through. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.000 The election officials already know what the outcome is supposed to be 00:24:14.000 --> 00:24:19.000 because they are test ballots. With them through the system, does the 00:24:19.000 --> 00:24:28.000 system count the ballots the same way that they were marked? 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:33.000 A whole bunch of scenarios take place. There's a lot of test ballots that go 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:37.000 through the process because in an election, any scenario as possible. Any 00:24:37.000 --> 00:24:43.000 candidate can win, any measure can pass or fail. It is up to the voters. So 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:47.000 they go through a whole bunch of scenarios, and that is before the 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:50.000 election. After the election, same thing happens. 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:56.000 They run through a bunch of test decks to make sure, test ballots, to make 00:24:56.000 --> 00:25:00.000 sure that the system functioned and is still functioning the way that it is 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:05.000 supposed to. I put a link and I'm not want to click 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:11.000 it on it it, but my presentation will be sent out and you can click on that. 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.000 The US Election Assistance Commission, assist your additions across the 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:18.000 country, put out videos about election security. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:24.000 If you have questions, check out the videos, and one of the videos is linked 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:27.000 in the presentation. Another reason you can trust your 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:29.000 ballot will be cast and counted 00:25:29.000 --> 00:25:33.000 as caste, transparency and observation. The elections belong to 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:37.000 us, the people. We are voting and we are deciding what 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:38.000 sort of 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:43.000 government representation we want and how we want the government to serve us, 00:25:43.000 --> 00:25:46.000 the people. Electron processes are open to the 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:47.000 public. Across the country, 00:25:47.000 --> 00:26:02.000 just as there are 50 different 00:26:02.000 --> 00:26:06.000 laws, there's 50 different sets of how the transparency works. Not everybody 00:26:06.000 --> 00:26:11.000 can show up and have 100,000 people in the election office observing 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:15.000 everything because election offices not an arena, not a football stadium. There 00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:21.000 might be limitations on how many people can be in there at a certain time, or 00:26:21.000 --> 00:26:25.000 how many members of the general public can be inside watching versus those 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:31.000 that might be appointed by the parties or the candidates or if there is a 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:35.000 measure, a representation from who is for and against the ballot measure. 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:41.000 But, every office does have some form of way in which the public can be there 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:44.000 in person. to observe. In addition to that, a lot 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:47.000 of jurisdictions, mainly larger jurisdictions across the country, have 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:55.000 installed cameras in their election offices to monitor 00:26:55.000 --> 00:27:00.000 if it is male in balloting, monitoring that the process to open the ballots 00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.000 and get the ballots from open out of the 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:06.000 envelope, to the scanner, various different 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:12.000 election offices. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:16.000 If you're interested in what is happening in your election office and 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:20.000 you happen to live in a jurisdiction with live video, 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:25.000 I encourage you to pull up the video. If you need something to fall asleep 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.000 to, those are great videos to watch. The election administration (Laughs) 00:27:29.000 --> 00:27:34.000 it is boring. I was election director, it is boring. 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:37.000 You are processing these ballots, you are getting them into tabulation 00:27:37.000 --> 00:27:40.000 equipment, you are doing math and counting. 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:45.000 That is what is is, 00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:48.000 as election administration point, it is not politics and election 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:50.000 administration, it is processes. 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:55.000 If you have that opportunity and you are interested, please take advantage 00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:56.000 of those opportunities. 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:58.000 Also, the records in which we have 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:01.000 in our elections. 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:05.000 The United States has really over the course of the last 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:08.000 8 to 12 years has moved 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:11.000 away from 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:17.000 relying too much on election technology, 00:28:17.000 --> 00:28:20.000 and starting to swing back towards paper ballots and physical records. 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:22.000 which can be inspected. 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:24.000 There are some voters that cannot 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:26.000 mark a paper ballot, 00:28:26.000 --> 00:28:29.000 across the country there are assistive machines 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:31.000 , that technology, that help the voters 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:38.000 to mark their ballots. 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:43.000 I put the screenshots on the slide. These are from our website, Verified 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:46.000 Voting.org. We maintain a map in a database, as you 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:50.000 can see, 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:53.000 I can click on this. We track election equipment and 00:28:53.000 --> 00:29:02.000 processes across the entire country, 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:08.000 let's take Texas here, I will click on the state and you can drill down into 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:11.000 every county. There's 254 counties in Texas. If you 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:16.000 are interested in what election equipment is used in a specific county, 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:21.000 yours or another county across the country, you can go to our verifier, 00:29:21.000 --> 00:29:26.000 and even click on the state and county and see what kind of equipment is being 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:29.000 used. We also have a stoplight, you can see 00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:34.000 green, yellow and red on the map of Texas. This indicates equipment type, 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:39.000 which you can see down here. 12.4% of the state will have primarily 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:43.000 hand marked paper ballot. Vast majority of the state, 82% will 00:29:43.000 --> 00:29:47.000 have ballot marking devices, which is the assistive devices. In the yellow 00:29:47.000 --> 00:29:51.000 counties, if you can see that, ballot marking devices for all voters. 00:29:51.000 --> 00:29:56.000 Again, if you are interested and want to see what is happening, across the 00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:05.000 country, I will pluck that for my organization so you can see 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.000 the equip and being used. For the vast majority of the country, 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:14.000 70% of the country, hand marked paper ballots. We can physically examine the 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:16.000 records. Postelection audits. This is another 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:21.000 reason why you can trust that your vote will be counted., as cast, once the 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:25.000 ballot enters the ecosystem. 45 states in the country conduct some 00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:27.000 form of postelection audit to verify 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:31.000 the results. They are examining the paper that I was 00:30:31.000 --> 00:30:35.000 talking about, or examining the machines, and ensuring that a good 00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.000 number of those ballots, they match up with the reported results. 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:44.000 Verified Voting as an organization, we endorse what is called a risk limiting 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:45.000 auditing, RLA, 00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.000 consider the most robust audits 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:51.000 by a slew of organizations federal plea 00:30:51.000 --> 00:30:57.000 ly 00:30:57.000 --> 00:31:01.000 and nonprofits. I have embedded a video link here if 00:31:01.000 --> 00:31:04.000 you want to learn about this postelection audit. 00:31:04.000 --> 00:31:09.000 Also Verified Voting we maintain a database, 00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:13.000 postelection audit laws, and that is updated regularly. As new legislation 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:16.000 is passed. If you're interested, 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:21.000 check your state, how do they check the count? What does the audit look 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:24.000 like? You can go to the website and look up 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:29.000 your slate, and see how the postelection audit is conducted in your 00:31:29.000 --> 00:31:31.000 jurisdiction. As Kat plugged, I will also 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:32.000 plug 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:39.000 this organization, 00:31:39.000 --> 00:31:44.000 one of the lawyers on our staff is in the thick of answering election 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:48.000 protection calls and has been doing that for the last several weeks, as 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:52.000 early voting has gotten underway. Any questions that you have, 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:57.000 if you have a concern about something you are seeing at your election office, 00:31:57.000 --> 00:31:59.000 call. You can text, Kat, 00:31:59.000 --> 00:32:03.000 you can text the number and that is the website, 866-OUR-VOTES. 00:32:03.000 --> 00:32:05.000 org. 00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:08.000 They are there many hours of the day 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:19.000 and they will be there 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:24.000 many days and hours after the election takes place. If you have questions, 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:29.000 concerns, give them a call. They want to hear from you if you have 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:32.000 the questions. Also, I will plug, reach out to your 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:36.000 local election office. should you have any specific questions 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:39.000 about how your elections are run. Do not trust 00:32:39.000 --> 00:32:44.000 everything you see on the news. Do not trust everything you see on 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:47.000 social media. Your election office, the workers there 00:32:47.000 --> 00:32:52.000 are your neighbors, your friends, and they are just try to do their job. 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:56.000 They are not trying to be political as the actually administer the election, 00:32:56.000 --> 00:33:01.000 they try to follow the processes and checklist, and make sure the math is 00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:05.000 correct. You can also reach out to us, this is 00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.000 our contact information should you want to reach out to us. 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:14.000 You can trust that your vote will be counted. Your ballot is safe and secure 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:18.000 once it enters the ecosystem. Your ballot will be treated the same 00:33:18.000 --> 00:33:22.000 way as everybody else's ballot. It is blind. 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:27.000 You can trust that your ballot will be counted. With that, Courtney, I will 00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:31.000 send it back to you. COURTNEY COOPERMAN: Thank you, I 00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:35.000 appreciate all of the information to instill confidence in our elections in 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:40.000 all of the research that you and your colleagues have been doing and your 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.000 advocacy year-round to make sure that our elections are strong and 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:47.000 accessible. I should note that today is Election 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:51.000 Hero day, which is a nonpartisan civic holiday dedicated to uplifting and 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:55.000 celebrating poll workers and election officials. It's a very appropriate time 00:33:55.000 --> 00:34:00.000 to acknowledge all of the hard and perhaps sometimes boring but very 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:03.000 critical work that goes into our election administration. Thank you CJ 00:34:03.000 --> 00:34:08.000 mac -- C Jay for your services and election worker previously, and leading 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:13.000 this nationwide workrk. 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:17.000 I will pass it to Lyndsey. LYNDSEY DEARLOVE: Thank you for 00:34:17.000 --> 00:34:25.000 inviting no more, 00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.000 we are a global organization focused on the prevention and information 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:32.000 around ending domestic and sexual violence. We have been around 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:37.000 predominately for 13 years now, you may have seen some campaigns we have done 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:43.000 so we are chuffed to be in the space. I'm based in the UK this evening and 00:34:43.000 --> 00:34:47.000 Guy Fox is tomorrow night, which is when you know, 00:34:47.000 --> 00:34:52.000 but 100 or so years they try to blow off Parliament. We celebrate by 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:56.000 doing fireworks. I'm talking about the mystic violence 00:34:56.000 --> 00:35:00.000 in intimate pilot -- partner violence and how that can 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:02.000 affect voting and how we can serve 00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:04.000 port 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:15.000 supporting survivors 00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.000 in the actualization of voting. The first place to start is try to 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:24.000 understanding why voting can be a scary and daunting prospect. One of the first 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:29.000 instances for many victims of violence, intimate part or -- partner abuse, the 00:35:29.000 --> 00:35:34.000 number one 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:36.000 tactic is to keep their 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:47.000 address private, they have not 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:52.000 shared with family, and how to keep that private put up if you registered 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:56.000 about some of the information is available public a full cup there are 00:35:56.000 --> 00:36:01.000 programs, really great programs in most states offer them, some offer different 00:36:01.000 --> 00:36:04.000 variations, Next slide, please. Many states offer that, 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:11.000 you can reach out via a government official or 00:36:11.000 --> 00:36:16.000 to a national or local domestic abuse or stocking advocacy agency. There is 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:21.000 an aspects of taking the initiative and feeling confident enough to talk about 00:36:21.000 --> 00:36:22.000 voting 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:26.000 and also the peace and fear of what would happen if my address leave my 00:36:26.000 --> 00:36:28.000 control, and somebody has it 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:36.000 as I'm starting the process. 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:41.000 It's incredibly scary and daunting and for many survivors of domestic abuse, 00:36:41.000 --> 00:36:46.000 it's the number one barrier to be able to vote. Being able to have the early 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:51.000 conversations, starting as soon as this week about voting for next time, 00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:56.000 securing your next -- address, and making sure the person feel safe and 00:36:56.000 --> 00:37:00.000 trusting in the moment, which are available. The other thing to consider 00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:05.000 is for some, and if not many of those victims of survivors that are living 00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:08.000 with the abusive partner, or recently 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:12.000 separated, so the risk of significant harm is high. The perpetrator is 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:15.000 consistently isolating them from information and potentially about 00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:18.000 community knowledge. 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:23.000 If you are ticking about how to engage those people, who are living in an 00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:26.000 abusive relationship, putting information around voting in 00:37:26.000 --> 00:37:30.000 unusual and unlikely spaces can be a game changer. We just missed sometimes 00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.000 and we think we can rely on social media, on 00:37:34.000 --> 00:37:39.000 needier people knocking on doors but if you are not allowed to answer the 00:37:39.000 --> 00:37:44.000 phone without somebody listening to you, you are not going to get the call 00:37:44.000 --> 00:37:49.000 from that person who is telling you different party politics or encouraging 00:37:49.000 --> 00:37:52.000 you to vote. That's not an option to you. 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:57.000 If you're not able to go into community space or public space without 00:37:57.000 --> 00:38:01.000 having your abusive partner with you, they are preventing you from having 00:38:01.000 --> 00:38:07.000 that, you are not going to be able to see the posters and get information of 00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:12.000 how to vote safely or even start to consider what the different parties are 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:16.000 potentially offering or what the candidates are offering. We always are 00:38:16.000 --> 00:38:19.000 encouraging the different and unusual spaces to talk about voting, there 00:38:19.000 --> 00:38:23.000 often some of the greatest spaces. Going into prenatal groups talking 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:28.000 about it it's really important. Or even then going into women's only 00:38:28.000 --> 00:38:32.000 safe spaces, gynecological visits, for example, OB/GYN, all of those things 00:38:32.000 --> 00:38:36.000 are really crucial and helpful. As well as leaking with local domestic 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:39.000 abuse and shelters and advocacy projects can begin changing for 00:38:39.000 --> 00:38:41.000 survivors. The other thing to consider is for 00:38:41.000 --> 00:38:49.000 those living with an abusive person, they could vote, boating season can be 00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:53.000 season of intense co-assert control around voting. There can be persuasion 00:38:53.000 --> 00:38:57.000 or forcing people to vote in a particular way so understanding that 00:38:57.000 --> 00:39:01.000 voting, 00:39:01.000 --> 00:39:05.000 if you're trying to minimize harm, boating can be a reason that happened. 00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:20.000 If you're concerned about someone you know, 00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:23.000 obviously supportive hotlines, and what does confidentiality look like for 00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:26.000 the present? What options do they have if they are 00:39:26.000 --> 00:39:31.000 living with the abusive partner? How do you talk to them safely and how 00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:35.000 do you find different opportunities to do that? Next slide, please. What are 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.000 the opportunities? One of them is that we are for lie 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:46.000 heavily on and takes preplanning and a lot of emotional, 00:39:46.000 --> 00:39:49.000 feeling safe and trusting in the process, our address confidentiality 00:39:49.000 --> 00:39:52.000 program. With a government official or localized 00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:57.000 and statewide advocacy agency who can secure your address and remove it and 00:39:57.000 --> 00:40:02.000 that just means that you are able to offer substitute address for voting and 00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:06.000 that can be really empowering. The other thing to consider is early 00:40:06.000 --> 00:40:07.000 voting. Thanks to Kat, 00:40:07.000 --> 00:40:12.000 we can say that 21 states offer including DC. That is great, especially 00:40:12.000 --> 00:40:24.000 if... 00:40:24.000 --> 00:40:28.000 Sorry, I'm confused, same-day registration is the chain maker. You 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:34.000 can show up on the day and you have access to your photo ID and that is not 00:40:34.000 --> 00:40:40.000 being held back from you by your abusive partner, that can be one of the 00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:45.000 safer ways to vote but that is not available to everybody and that could 00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:50.000 often depend on your ability to reach that voting space and if you do not 00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.000 have access to transport or your transport is monitored, it can raise 00:40:54.000 --> 00:40:57.000 concerns. Voting by mail can be helpful, 00:40:57.000 --> 00:41:02.000 especially if you feel that it can be discreet but obviously if you feel that 00:41:02.000 --> 00:41:06.000 you're concerned somebody might intercept your post or have access to 00:41:06.000 --> 00:41:11.000 it, that can rule out the option for you. There's something really important 00:41:11.000 --> 00:41:15.000 about really understanding that victims and survivors that expressed a metric 00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:17.000 of use, domestic violence, have options. 00:41:17.000 --> 00:41:22.000 Voting in person, what does it look like? That starts with safety planning. 00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:28.000 Can you vote at a space that you know that your abusive partner will not be 00:41:28.000 --> 00:41:34.000 there or is there an alternative space that you can go to if you feel that you 00:41:34.000 --> 00:41:37.000 can bump into each other. You've mentioned eloquently about 00:41:37.000 --> 00:41:42.000 standing in line, but if you can imagine by a victim and survivor's 00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:47.000 point of view, they are in a space where they could be seen by somebody 00:41:47.000 --> 00:41:53.000 that they know, and they are fixed in the space for a period of time, they 00:41:53.000 --> 00:41:58.000 don't want to leave the line and is creating anxiety risk and worry, and 00:41:58.000 --> 00:42:02.000 something about really understanding what that could mean for victims 00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:07.000 survivors, before we start to say, you can vote, and really exploit a person's 00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:10.000 individual story and experience. Next slide, please. Many people would 00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:15.000 suggest these, and it's a simple safety planning suggestions, but really caveat 00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:18.000 that with, everyone's experience of domestic abuse, domestic violence, 00:42:18.000 --> 00:42:22.000 intimate person -- partner violence is uniquely there, and someone stocking-- 00:42:22.000 --> 00:42:24.000 stalking can be so far-fetched 00:42:24.000 --> 00:42:28.000 when someone discloses that, how to understand how it impacts day-to-day 00:42:28.000 --> 00:42:31.000 life. I love the person whom is the victim 00:42:31.000 --> 00:42:39.000 to lead the conversation, but having 00:42:39.000 --> 00:42:42.000 and knowing there's lots of opportunities within the day you can 00:42:42.000 --> 00:42:47.000 potentially go to a different voting station can be really important and 00:42:47.000 --> 00:42:50.000 empowering. We always say, do things in partnership 00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:55.000 with somebody that you trust. You know that you are doing this and it 00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:56.000 can be really scary, 00:42:56.000 --> 00:43:00.000 can be risky and from your understanding around personal safety, 00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:05.000 make sure and advocate knows, go with a trusted family member,. All of that 00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.000 stuff is really important. The other thing which is easy to say is 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:15.000 plan your safe transport ahead of time. Going on a communal bus can be really 00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:16.000 useful, 00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:21.000 but can be terribly terrifying. You don't know who may know you are me 00:43:21.000 --> 00:43:26.000 know your abusive partner, and in particular if you tried to keep your 00:43:26.000 --> 00:43:30.000 location secret and incompetence from anybody who may have contact with them. 00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:36.000 The other thing is, day before you go to the polls, the polls close at 00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:40.000 different times, but planning and talking about voting earlier on can be 00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:43.000 really key. Next week, when election results are in 00:43:43.000 --> 00:43:48.000 and everybody is still considering what is happened, it's a great time to 00:43:48.000 --> 00:43:52.000 really start talking about voting options if you experience domestic 00:43:52.000 --> 00:43:55.000 abuse, domestic violence, intimate person violence. 00:43:55.000 --> 00:44:00.000 And like others we have two great tools we have used, and we would like 00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:09.000 to promote, if you can go to the next slide, the first one is our 00:44:09.000 --> 00:44:14.000 number org state voting guide, which is an interesting journey of us pulling 00:44:14.000 --> 00:44:19.000 together all of the different options that are available for those who have 00:44:19.000 --> 00:44:23.000 endured domestic or sexual violence work stalking. On the website it is 00:44:23.000 --> 00:44:28.000 great to look at, but alongside, there's other great sources that C Jay 00:44:28.000 --> 00:44:32.000 and Kat suggested. The other thing I would like to suggest 00:44:32.000 --> 00:44:36.000 is, many of you will be working directly with victims of domestic 00:44:36.000 --> 00:44:41.000 violence, stalking or sexual violence had also faced with, where can I refer 00:44:41.000 --> 00:44:44.000 somebody to? How can I access advocacy support that 00:44:44.000 --> 00:44:49.000 is tailored to their needs or their location? The bright sky 00:44:49.000 --> 00:44:53.000 app has this information. Has a full directory of services across 00:44:53.000 --> 00:44:59.000 the US and Canada, as well as healthy relationship 00:44:59.000 --> 00:45:02.000 quizzes, great way to start conversations around when somebody is 00:45:02.000 --> 00:45:07.000 experiences, but also a host of tips and suggestions about how you can 00:45:07.000 --> 00:45:11.000 support somebody you are concerned about. Two great resources. In addition 00:45:11.000 --> 00:45:15.000 to the brilliant ones thatC C Jay and Kat have suggested. 00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:21.000 I know I sped through this, I want to make sure we have enough time for 00:45:21.000 --> 00:45:24.000 questions. Thank you for inviting no more org. 00:45:24.000 --> 00:45:30.000 COURTNEY COOPERMAN: Thank you for coming, 00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:37.000 important tips to consider as we plan to work for 2025 and beyond. 00:45:37.000 --> 00:45:42.000 Let's dive into questions because we have got some good ones. One question 00:45:42.000 --> 00:45:44.000 for C Jay, 00:45:44.000 --> 00:45:48.000 there's a lot of incredible information, but most of us are not 00:45:48.000 --> 00:45:52.000 going to become election administration experts or be able to internalize all 00:45:52.000 --> 00:45:57.000 of that to have it readily available in an offhand conversation. 00:45:57.000 --> 00:46:03.000 What is a two sentence elevator pitch that you give to a potential voter to 00:46:03.000 --> 00:46:07.000 reassure them that their ballot would be fairly counted? C JAY COLES: That is 00:46:07.000 --> 00:46:12.000 a great question. I will answer this in pieces. 00:46:12.000 --> 00:46:15.000 Some things I did not mention. 00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:20.000 that should be mentioned, 00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:28.000 also, who is working at the election office? 00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:32.000 I mentioned your neighbors and friends, but these are the people in 00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:35.000 your community. The processes within the officer done 00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:38.000 in a bipartisan manner, so what that means is 00:46:38.000 --> 00:46:44.000 it is not just all members of one party or all members of another party 00:46:44.000 --> 00:46:49.000 that are doing the work, things have to happen in the bipartisan way. You 00:46:49.000 --> 00:46:52.000 have to have those handling ballots be from different parties. 00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:57.000 They cannot just do it by themselves, and that is one thing. 00:46:57.000 --> 00:47:02.000 In all of the processes in place that I talked about, chain of custody, the 00:47:02.000 --> 00:47:06.000 checks and balances, that have to happen within an office 00:47:06.000 --> 00:47:11.000 to go from the beginning of the election to the end of the election. 00:47:11.000 --> 00:47:16.000 If those don't happen, there are remedies in place to ensure that those 00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:17.000 things happen. 00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:22.000 I think the biggest thing, really, is everybody's ballot is treated the same. 00:47:22.000 --> 00:47:27.000 Every office across the country, once the ballot 00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:32.000 enters the ecosystem like I was talking about, the ballots are treated 00:47:32.000 --> 00:47:35.000 the same, and it is very difficult, even for election administrators, 00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:38.000 to figure out who's valid is who is. 00:47:38.000 --> 00:47:41.000 It is incredibly difficult to do. 00:47:41.000 --> 00:47:45.000 And so, you can trust 00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:50.000 that your ballot will be fairly counted because it is treated the exact 00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:52.000 same as every other ballot. 00:47:52.000 --> 00:47:56.000 As those processes, as the bellicose to the different processes, 00:47:56.000 --> 00:48:09.000 ABN and although by mail state, maybe the signature doesn't look 00:48:09.000 --> 00:48:14.000 the same, he will get a message from the election office to correct that and 00:48:14.000 --> 00:48:19.000 make sure that it is counted. That does not signal fraud, that 00:48:19.000 --> 00:48:24.000 signals the process is working the way they should. That's not a two sentence 00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:33.000 elevator pitch, but take bits and pieces 00:48:33.000 --> 00:48:38.000 of that so that you can know that every ballot is treated the same within 00:48:38.000 --> 00:48:41.000 the ecosystem. COURTNEY COOPERMAN: Think you, C Jay, 00:48:41.000 --> 00:48:44.000 that is helpful. Another audience question that is 00:48:44.000 --> 00:48:48.000 directed towards Lyndsey, but anyone can answer if you have advice. 00:48:48.000 --> 00:48:53.000 Our attendee lives in a vote by mail state and know somebody whose partner 00:48:53.000 --> 00:48:57.000 intercepts their ballot directly from the mailbox, fills it out, seal the 00:48:57.000 --> 00:49:02.000 envelope and forces them to sign it without allowing them to see it and 00:49:02.000 --> 00:49:06.000 belted out without their input. Are there any steps you would recommend 00:49:06.000 --> 00:49:10.000 to protect themselves and their right to vote? LYNDSEY DEARLOVE: 00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.000 At the beginning, someone living in an abusive relationship, having an open 00:49:14.000 --> 00:49:17.000 conversation to a safe place can enable them 00:49:17.000 --> 00:49:22.000 to access support to move on from the relationship. I would start there, and 00:49:22.000 --> 00:49:26.000 allowing safety to lead. The challenge is, what can you do in 00:49:26.000 --> 00:49:31.000 that situation and how you can acknowledge that? I would defer to Kat 00:49:31.000 --> 00:49:33.000 and C K Jay 00:49:33.000 --> 00:49:37.000 about voter fraud if they think that is happening, but from my perspective 00:49:37.000 --> 00:49:41.000 and from 00:49:41.000 --> 00:49:45.000 NO MORE perspective, there's a survivor that is potentially at risk of 00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.000 significant harm, and having the questions and this is a great 00:49:49.000 --> 00:49:53.000 opportunity to talk about them, it's really key. Linking in and reaching out 00:49:53.000 --> 00:50:04.000 to advocacy 00:50:04.000 --> 00:50:10.000 agencies that are local to where you are can make all of the difference. You 00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.000 are able as the person that is concerned about somebody you know to 00:50:14.000 --> 00:50:19.000 reach out and have the conversation, and they may suggest different support 00:50:19.000 --> 00:50:24.000 options that are available that could meet the needs of the person you are 00:50:24.000 --> 00:50:29.000 concerned about and, in turn, able them to access support. I will defer to C 00:50:29.000 --> 00:50:34.000 Jay and Kat, what can they do? C JAY COLES: If they are concerned 00:50:34.000 --> 00:50:38.000 about voter fraud? Again, I know I sound like a broken 00:50:38.000 --> 00:50:42.000 record, go to your local election office. Call your local election 00:50:42.000 --> 00:50:45.000 official. Ask them about the process with which 00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:50.000 the pellets are secured, and by which they work to prevent voter fraud. There 00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:53.000 are steps in place, I guarantee, for just about even scenario 00:50:53.000 --> 00:50:58.000 -- every scenario even this one. 00:50:58.000 --> 00:51:02.000 Where somebody their ballot has been voted and they are forced to sign. 00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:05.000 Call your local election office. If that scenario 00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:12.000 is you, 00:51:12.000 --> 00:51:16.000 that process can happen where maybe the ballot enters the mail, 00:51:16.000 --> 00:51:18.000 I don't know if you are able to 00:51:18.000 --> 00:51:22.000 privately call and 00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:27.000 at some point your local election official and say, "I need to spoil my 00:51:27.000 --> 00:51:32.000 ballot. 00:51:32.000 --> 00:51:36.000 I changed my mind and it has not been counted yet." There opportunities for 00:51:36.000 --> 00:51:43.000 appellate to not enter the system. 00:51:43.000 --> 00:51:49.000 If the voter change their mind, or in the scenario, needs their ballot not to 00:51:49.000 --> 00:51:53.000 enter that system. There are ways in which 00:51:53.000 --> 00:51:56.000 that can happen. You've got to communicate with the 00:51:56.000 --> 00:52:00.000 local election office. They are there to help you, the voter. 00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:06.000 I guarantee you, all they want to do is help the voter. There are things that 00:52:06.000 --> 00:52:10.000 have been postelection where ballots are looked at for potential fraud, if 00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:15.000 something is flagged. In an investigation can begin. 00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:19.000 If there's an opportunity to communicate with the local election 00:52:19.000 --> 00:52:23.000 office, please do that. They really are there to help you. KAT 00:52:23.000 --> 00:52:29.000 CALVIN: I would throw in, this may be in your voter guide that I am excited 00:52:29.000 --> 00:52:31.000 about, for future elections, most counties 00:52:31.000 --> 00:52:38.000 offer an option to 00:52:38.000 --> 00:52:43.000 pick up your mail and valid from the county clerk, rather than having it 00:52:43.000 --> 00:52:48.000 sent to your house. They do this a lot for folks that are 00:52:48.000 --> 00:52:52.000 on house for different reasons, a lot of 00:52:52.000 --> 00:52:57.000 it depends on the freedoms that this person in the center has, but their 00:52:57.000 --> 00:53:06.000 rent may be an option to change the way the ballot is sent, 00:53:06.000 --> 00:53:11.000 and find time in the space they have during early voting to go in and fill 00:53:11.000 --> 00:53:16.000 it out at the county clerk's office. That may also be an option. LYNDSEY 00:53:16.000 --> 00:53:22.000 DEARLOVE: Thank you so much for helping on that question. For me, I'm going to 00:53:22.000 --> 00:53:25.000 go back to safety. Allowing a person who is in that 00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:30.000 situation to lead the decision about what happens next. Any sort of shift in 00:53:30.000 --> 00:53:34.000 what is happening in the home can cause significant hard -- 00:53:34.000 --> 00:53:38.000 harm to the person's life. Thank you. COURTNEY COOPERMAN: Thank 00:53:38.000 --> 00:53:42.000 you all for that wisdom and really concrete guidance to the person who 00:53:42.000 --> 00:53:46.000 asked the question. Feel free to reach out to us, our 00:53:46.000 --> 00:53:51.000 policy team works really closely with a handful of domestic violence policy 00:53:51.000 --> 00:53:55.000 organizations on housing security for survivors and we can definitely put you 00:53:55.000 --> 00:54:00.000 in touch with others that are working on this issue. Appreciate all of the 00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:03.000 insights. I will take one more question, this is 00:54:03.000 --> 00:54:08.000 geared towards Kat. Kat, I know you do a lot of work around 00:54:08.000 --> 00:54:12.000 the country on registering voters, helping people obtain ideas, both for 00:54:12.000 --> 00:54:16.000 the purposes of voting and broader basic needs. Can you talk about how 00:54:16.000 --> 00:54:22.000 people in our network can connect with you and bring those resources to their 00:54:22.000 --> 00:54:25.000 communities for future election cycles? KAT CALVIN: I just put 00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:29.000 my email and a chat. You can feel free to 00:54:29.000 --> 00:54:34.000 reach out to me at any time, and we can 00:54:34.000 --> 00:54:39.000 work with you in a variety of ways, we can talk to you about your particular 00:54:39.000 --> 00:54:45.000 community organization and how we can help you set up a system to be able to 00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:53.000 get IDs yourself or GeoTV 00:54:53.000 --> 00:54:59.000 programs, and we are happy to talk to each of you to figure out the best 00:54:59.000 --> 00:55:01.000 processes for you. COURTNEY COOPERMAN: Wonderful, thank 00:55:01.000 --> 00:55:05.000 you so much, Kat. Not seeing any more questions so we'll 00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:10.000 jump into some closing announcements. Thank you to all of the panelists for 00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:14.000 sharing about your work and your resources, and putting us in the 00:55:14.000 --> 00:55:19.000 strongest possible position to go into tomorrow and get out the vote with 00:55:19.000 --> 00:55:24.000 confidence in our communities. We can jump back into the slides and to 00:55:24.000 --> 00:55:27.000 our closing announcements. I went to art remind you of some 00:55:27.000 --> 00:55:32.000 additional resources of Our Homes, Our Votes and her partners. We have a 00:55:32.000 --> 00:55:36.000 nonpartisan get out the call -- vote call script, 00:55:36.000 --> 00:55:42.000 so you can help them make a voting plan. You can feel free to adapt 00:55:42.000 --> 00:55:46.000 content from this for any texts or emails or in person outreach. We will 00:55:46.000 --> 00:55:52.000 drop the link where you can access that script in the chat. We also have our 00:55:52.000 --> 00:55:56.000 latest edition of Tenant Talk, by annual newsletter geared towards 00:55:56.000 --> 00:55:59.000 tenants. This edition has a lot of fantastic 00:55:59.000 --> 00:56:03.000 contents to inspire tenants who might be wary of voting, including some 00:56:03.000 --> 00:56:08.000 direct testimonials from tenant leaders about why voting at her. We may have 00:56:08.000 --> 00:56:12.000 some of you have contributed on the call so thank you for contributing if 00:56:12.000 --> 00:56:14.000 you are a contributor. 00:56:14.000 --> 00:56:18.000 As we heard in past webinars and multiple speakers today, the election 00:56:18.000 --> 00:56:23.000 protection hotline is a critical resource for anyone who is right to 00:56:23.000 --> 00:56:26.000 vote is being challenged or has questions. 866-OUR-VOTES 00:56:26.000 --> 00:56:30.000 is a hotline for English speakers, and there is also multilingual hotlines, 00:56:30.000 --> 00:56:33.000 posted on the 866R Road website -- 00:56:33.000 --> 00:56:36.000 866 our boat website, a different number for Spanish, 00:56:36.000 --> 00:56:42.000 Arabic, and multiple 00:56:42.000 --> 00:56:43.000 Asian 00:56:43.000 --> 00:56:46.000 languages. 00:56:46.000 --> 00:56:50.000 Turbo Vote 00:56:50.000 --> 00:57:00.000 can help make a plan to vote, and in many states the 00:57:00.000 --> 00:57:04.000 voter registration deadline has passed, it's also a tool you can use to 00:57:04.000 --> 00:57:09.000 help people find what to expect on their ballot. This includes candidates 00:57:09.000 --> 00:57:13.000 down to the local level, and ballot measures. If you know someone that 00:57:13.000 --> 00:57:18.000 feels a little bit overwhelmed about figuring out who or what they are going 00:57:18.000 --> 00:57:23.000 to vote for, they can preview it all here entering their address. It's 00:57:23.000 --> 00:57:28.000 another tool to help them approach and election day with confidence, and there 00:57:28.000 --> 00:57:32.000 is also a lot of FAQs about state specific voting procedures, and so 00:57:32.000 --> 00:57:37.000 definitely check out the resource. You can scan the QR code or click the 00:57:37.000 --> 00:57:41.000 link in the chat. Next slide, please. Tomorrow is 00:57:41.000 --> 00:57:44.000 election day. This is not the final webinar in our 00:57:44.000 --> 00:57:49.000 series because this work does not end with the presidential election and 00:57:49.000 --> 00:57:53.000 other elections taking place tomorrow. We have our final webinar of the year, 00:57:53.000 --> 00:57:59.000 on Monday, November 18, at 2:30 PM, and it will provide a look ahead to 00:57:59.000 --> 00:58:02.000 next steps for nonpartisan civic engagement and a housing justice 00:58:02.000 --> 00:58:05.000 movement. On our panel we will have Allison 00:58:05.000 --> 00:58:06.000 Neswood from that 00:58:06.000 --> 00:58:09.000 Native American Parades, and Her Own Brooke Schipporeit 00:58:09.000 --> 00:58:33.000 . 00:58:33.000 --> 00:58:38.000 We will have a meeting for medical rather than webinar, which will be 00:58:38.000 --> 00:58:41.000 conversationalist structured. If your organization is not already an 00:58:41.000 --> 00:58:46.000 affiliate, and you think you like to attend the gathering, 00:58:46.000 --> 00:58:48.000 please sign up 00:58:48.000 --> 00:58:52.000 on our affiliates network. 00:58:52.000 --> 00:59:01.000 Appreciate everybody being here and asking questions. Thank you for 00:59:01.000 --> 00:59:06.000 your incredible leadership to get the boat this week, this year and every 00:59:06.000 --> 00:59:09.000 year. Happy voting to those of you who have 00:59:09.000 --> 00:59:11.000 not voted yet. Live captioning by AI-Media (end of