The League of Women Voters (LWV) of Philadelphia launched two innovative, highly-targeted and data-driven programs Sept. 19 to help registered senior voters obtain the photo ID required to vote on Election Day.
LWV Seniors Phone Bank: This direct-outreach program is using data analytics to identify registered voters over the age of 74 who do not have a PennDOT Photo ID. LWV Phone Bank volunteers will use a carefully constructed script to determine whether seniors on the list have a valid, unexpired ID and, if not, provide them with detailed counseling on how to acquire the ID they need to vote. Voters will then be referred to NewCourtland, a leading non-profit provider of services to the growing aging population, for additional hands-on assistance and transportation to and from the five senior centers in its Network, including Lehigh and Spring Garden Senior Centers and the Coffee Cup, Main and Tioga branches of Philadelphia Senior Center.
Once these older Pennsylvanians have assembled their document folders, this program will coordinate with the NewCourtland Network and PA Voter ID Coalition’s Transportation Programs, which will take voters, documents in-hand, to Philadelphia’s PennDOT Centers.
“NewCourtland is committed to ensuring the voices of Philadelphia seniors are heard,” said Gail Kass, president and CEO of NewCourtland. “We feel it is our civic responsibility to ensure all Philadelphia seniors are familiar with the state’s Voter ID law and can obtain the appropriate ID if they don’t have one understanding there is no greater freedom of expression than the right to vote.”
LWV Voter Advocates: When senior voters have the required documents and arrive at PennDOT centers, they will be met by LWV “Voter Advocates.” Advocates will act as trouble-shooters and help voters navigate the PennDOT process, counseling citizens trying to clear the final hurdle to the ballot box and go home with an ID in-hand.
Voter Advocates will assure that PennDOT clerks receive applications that are “approval-ready,” helping to smooth the process and help the agency cope with the extraordinary demands of processing thousands of voter ID documents amid their regular duties. Advocates will assure that voters understand the documents they are asked to sign and clerks’ instructions, as well as making certain that PennDOT personnel interpret ID documents and regulations properly. The LWV Philadelphia wants to make sure that the process functions as smoothly as possible for both voters and PennDOT employees.
Two trainings conducted by the Senior Law Center were held for the LWV Voter Advocates Program. PA Department of State Deputy Secretary Shannon Royer attended one of the trainings to answer questions and clarify the criteria set forth in Act 18, the PA Voter ID Law.
Rachel Lawton, president, LWV of Philadelphia, said, “The League of Women Voters was founded in 1920 to help 20 million women carry out their new responsibilities as voters. Our mission of voter advocacy and voter protection continues 92 years later because if one person’s vote is threatened, our whole democracy is at stake.”
Bernie Prazenica, President and General Manager of 6abc-TV, said, “6abc is pleased to continue its decades-long partnership with the League of Women Voters. In addition to our ongoing news coverage about the Voter ID law, we have committed the use of our facility and resources to help the League of Women Voters reach out to voters.”
Training for the LWV Senior Phone Bank took place from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. on Wed., Sept. 19 in the 6abc studios’ Call for Action Consumer Help Hotline office and went live from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. the same day. The phone bank will target approximately 12,000 seniors 74+ with 70%+ turnout over last cycle who can be identified by address and household data as living independently. The call list is weighted toward the divisions and wards in Philadelphia with the highest number of seniors fitting these criteria.
Lawton said, “One voter who loses his or her right to vote for lack of a valid photo ID is one too many for us. We will continue our outreach efforts through Election Day, when we will staff our LWV-6abc Election Day Hotline to assist voters with questions and challenges at the polls.”
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