(WXYZ) — When you're heading to your polling place on election day, do you know what's allowed and what's not?
Before you go to cast your ballot, remember that it's unlawful for someone to "attempt, through menace or other means, to influence another person in how to vote, or to deter or interrupt another person in voting at an election. Federal statute prohibits threatening, intimidating, and coercing voters."
According to the state, types of voter intimidation can include:
- People who aren't poll workers or election administrators asking for personal documentation
- Photographing or videotaping voters at an early voting site, a polling place, a clerk’s office, or a ballot drop box
- Disseminating false or misleading election information
- Blocking the entrance to a polling place, early voting site, clerk’s office, or ballot drop box
- Directly questioning voters
If you ever experience or witness voter intimidation, you're asked to report it to an election worker or your local clerk. There are also voter protection hotlines available:
- English: 866-OUR-VOTE / (866) 687-8683
- Spanish: 888-VE-Y-VOTA / (888) 839-8682
- Arabic: 844-YALLA-US / (844) 925-5287
- Bengali, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog, Urdu, and Vietnamese: 888-API-VOTE / (888) 274-8683
For more election day information, go here.
