Voting Rights

Still fighting for voting rights

Nothing is more fundamental to our democracy than the right to vote. The ACLU of Pennsylvania is committed to ensuring that all citizens are able to cast their votes and have them accurately counted.

The ACLU has routinely represented voters and candidates in order to protect the right to vote and the right to participate in a fair election process.

The nonpartisan voter protection Election Protection Coalition works to ensure that every eligible voter in Pennsylvania is able to cast a ballot that gets counted. The PA Election Protection Coalition is coordinated by the ACLU of Pennsylvania, Common Cause Pennsylvania, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, All Voting Is Local, and Pennsylvania Voice.

Click here for information about the upcoming election and your rights as a PA voter.

Click Here for Information on Our Let People Vote Campaign in Berks and Lancaster County

Voters can call the following nonpartisan voter hotlines for basic information, such as the location of their polling place or how to obtain an absentee ballot, as well as report problems on Election Day:

  • 866-OUR-VOTE hotline (866-687-8683) for English
  • 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682) for Spanish
  • 888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683) for a variety of Asian languages (The APIA vote hotline lists them here http://www.apiavote.org/hotline: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Urdu, Hindi, and Bengali)

The Election Protection Coalition is prepared to assist voters with:

  • Questions about polling locations, dropbox locations and registration status
  • Instructions on absentee or mail-in voting
  • Improper challenges at the polls
  • Voter intimidation
  • Polling places that are not open or that have very long lines
  • Poll workers improperly asking for photo ID from voters
  • Voters denied the opportunity to vote or not permitted to vote a provisional ballot

The Election Protection Coalition has recruited hundreds of trained legal and grassroots volunteers across the commonwealth to monitor key polling precincts and to respond to voter complaints to the hotlines on Election Day. The coalition will also have attorneys on call in every county who are prepared to go into court if needed.

If you are interested in volunteering to help the effort to make our elections equitable for everyone, please visit here.

Questions? Contact us at info@aclupa.org.

The Latest

Press Release
A blue keystone that says in white text, Let People Vote

More Than 9,000 Pa. Voters Cast Valid Ballots After Making Mail Voting Mistakes in 2024 Election, According to ACLU Analysis

PHILADELPHIA - A new analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has found that more than 9,000 people were able to cast ballots that were counted in the 2024 general election in the commonwealth after first making disqualifying mistakes on their mail ballots.
News & Commentary
man holding sign that reads "Immigrants Make America Great"

Eyes Wide Open About the Challenges Ahead

The ACLU of Pennsylvania is prepared for a second Trump administration, which is a clear and present danger to civil liberties, to communities we serve, and to democracy itself.
Press Release
A blue keystone that says in white text, Let People Vote

PA Voters Decide Statement in Response to York County Rejection of Challenges to Mail Ballots from Pennsylvanians Abroad

This afternoon the York County board of elections voted 3-0 to dismiss challenges to mail ballots submitted by Pennsylvanians living overseas, ensuring the counting of ballots from more than 300 York Countians who reside abroad.
Press Release
Vote Here

Pro-Voter Coalition Responds to Illegal, Unfair Challenges to Overseas Voters in Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG, Pa. - PA Voters Decide responded today to reports of several thousand challenges to mail ballot applications submitted by Pennsylvanians living abroad.
Court Case
Oct 07, 2024

Baxter and Kinniry v. Philadelphia Board of Elections

ACLU-PA sued the Philadelphia Board of Elections on behalf of two registered voters whose timely mail ballots submitted in the September 17 special election for state representative were rejected because they failed to handwrite a date on the outer return envelope.
Court Case
Oct 01, 2024

In This Together NEPA, et al. v. Crocamo

The ACLU of Pennsylvania has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Luzerne County voters and an advocacy organization, In This Together NEPA, over the county’s removal of mail ballot drop boxes just weeks ahead of the 2024 general election.
Court Case
Sep 25, 2024

New PA Project Education Fund et al. v. Schmidt and 67 County Boards of Elections

On September 25, 2024, 10 organizations filed a suit in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, asking the court to stop enforcement of the commonwealth’s requirement that voters include a handwritten date on the return envelope of their mail ballot packets.
Court Case
Sep 20, 2024

Republican National Committee v. Schmidt