UCP Twitter Patrol

Thanks...!

2008-11-10T12:16:00.002-05:00

...to everyone who participated in our UCP Election Day Twitter Patrol! It was a pretty successful endeavor -if we do say so ourselves. We got reports from all across the country, and hundreds of people have visited this blog since Tuesday.

When you've been around as long as UCP has (55 years and counting), it's not always easy to jump into the new media game. We consider this a test run in that regard and we're starting to see just how involved our online community really is. Therefore we're looking forward to more and bigger social media events in the future and we're always open to suggestions from you about how to make that happen. You can give us feedback on the Twitter Patrol, or anything else for that matter, by leaving a comment on the blog or by e-mailing me (Patrick) at ptutwiler@ucp.org. We're also on Myspace, Facebook, and of course, Twitter.

Thanks again for a great Election Night.

We'll be talking to you soon,

The UCP National Team

New York

2008-11-10T12:15:00.001-05:00

bfmwear @ElectionPatrol My voting place in Forest Hills, NY, PS 101 was accessible and easy. 10:05 PM Nov 4th

Illinois

2008-11-10T12:13:00.002-05:00

deafmom @ElectionPatrol I voted at Builta school in Chicago, Illinois, but forgot to look and see if one or more booths were accessible. 9:10 PM Nov 4th from web.

Rhode Island

2008-11-06T14:59:00.000-05:00

Katherine Tildes: Gessler Rec Center, Providence, RI . Took me longer to walk to it thank actually vote! Very helpful people. easy ballots. It was great!!

North Carolina

2008-11-06T14:57:00.002-05:00

Amanda Roop: At my polling place in Greensboro, NC, there was indeed a ramp. The machines were on the ground floor. The booths were, however, too high up.

Things Aren't Looking Good For McCain

2008-11-04T20:21:00.000-05:00

Pennsylvania has gone for Obama, at least according to MSNBC, along with Connecticut, DC, Deleware, Illinois, Massachusettes, Maryland, Maine, and Vermont. Kentucky, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Tennessee have gone for McCain.

McCain was counting on Pennsylvania and with it gone, he litterally needs to stave off Obama in every other state George Bush won in 2004 while at the same time winning some other blue state.

New York

2008-11-04T19:13:00.000-05:00

hjspencer @electionpatrol From Islip, New York: I voted at Manetuck School, wheelchair ramp in place, short lines. about 2 hours ago from web in reply to ElectionPatrol

Liveblogging the Elections!

2008-11-04T18:52:00.005-05:00

Alright, we're back. Maybe. For some reason, my wireless card is kaput so I'm having to use a sketchy land connection. I may get booted off at some point in the future. In any event, looks like McCain is ahead in Kentucky and Obama's ahead in Indiana. People on MSNBC are super excited and at FOX...well, less so. Feel free to leave you're comments by the way. I would love to see those crazy CNN holograms but my cable is messed up too. Send me a video or something if you can.

UPDATE:

Vermont: Obama
Kentucky: McCain
And Mark Warner is the Senator from Virginia

No surprises here...

Update from UCP

2008-11-04T17:10:00.003-05:00

Alright folks, the work day is done on the East Coast and they're turning off the lights in the building, so it's time to move this operation over to our field office in Logan Circle (aka: my house). But don't worry, I'll keep on posting your tweets and messages, and as the results start to come in, I'll post those too. Thanks so much for all the work you've done so far, and make sure to visit us again before the night is over!

Ciao

Patrick
Social Media Intern
UCP National Office

Colorado

2008-11-04T16:31:00.001-05:00

Kforbriger: no lines in adams county colorado - outside denver - things moving quickly. getting thousands out to vote!!!

California

2008-11-04T16:25:00.001-05:00

90210organics @electionpatrol My polling place was easy to get to. Walked there with hubby and 2-year old. No lines. Voted in less than 5 mins.Saugus, CA. 14 minutes ago from web in reply to ElectionPatrol

New Jersey

2008-11-04T16:24:00.001-05:00

rudy10 @ElectionPatrol I voted in Teaneck New Jersey and it went well the voting place was a school and they had an accessible machine for me :-) 22 minutes ago from web in reply to ElectionPatrol

Minnesota

2008-11-04T16:08:00.000-05:00

fledchen: @ElectionPatrol Polling place had a sign blocking the sidewalk (and wheelchair access). Is now moved.

fledchen: @ElectionPatrol Low vision functions of the ballot marking machine worked well, however.

fledchen: @electionpatrol Polling place was Eliot Community Center in St. Louis Park, MN

Maryland

2008-11-04T16:07:00.000-05:00

MothersWork: @866ourvote, Zero wait. 11 machines working. Campaining outside. #EPMD (Maryland) #20906 precinct1 #votereport http://is.gd/4XcP

Maryland

2008-11-04T16:01:00.004-05:00

wusa9: Voting Problems Identified In Prince George's County : Board of Elections says call from 9News Now was the ..

http://tinyurl.com/5hd94j

"Computer glitches and heavy turnout left hundreds of voters in one Prince George's precinct waiting four hours to cast their ballots today.

Some 300 people were in line at Mount Oak United Methodist Church at 4am, according to a spokeswoman for the Prince George's County Board of Elections. When the doors finally opened, there was a serious problem with 26 of the 39 voter access cards available."

Update from UCP

2008-11-04T15:30:00.005-05:00

So I'm hearing a pretty good mix of things from up here at 1660 L Street (UCP National Office). Many of the personal reports we've received have been good news. Lots of people are getting in and out of their polling places quickly and with relative ease. On the other hand, we have gotten some negative feedback (look under the "thumbs down" tag) like the KaraSwims post I mentioned earlier.

Election Protection is fairly emphatic that Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia are headed for trouble. Disaboom has also mentioned Arizona, Minnesota, and Missouri. We can see evidence of problems in most of those states in our own posts, but not Virginia. I don't think anyone who's reported to us has had any problems in Virginia yet. But we're certainly keeping our eye on it.

For their part, CNN says they've received the most calls to their Hotline (1-877-GOCNN-08) from Virginia, Florida, New Jersey, New York, DC, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The top three types of problems: Registration, Mechanical, and Access.

Virginia

2008-11-04T15:29:00.001-05:00

edolenz: Arlington, Virginia, voting went smoothly. No lines, polling place was accessible.

Maryland

2008-11-04T15:27:00.003-05:00

Melvin: Everything turned out well in Elk Ridge Maryland. No lines. Both booth and polling location were accessible.

Disaboom Digest of Problems for Disabled Voters

2008-11-04T15:12:00.004-05:00

Here. (thnx 6oclockvintage.)

BTW: TwitterPatrol reported this incident, mentioned in the above article, earlier today:

"Florida - Anecdotal evidence on Twitter points to at least one instance of a voter with a disability being told they were not eligible to vote because they are disabled. Additionally Disaboom blogger KaraSwims was denied the right to a private voting area in Miami: "there were no lowered booths or even a table for me to use for voting. I asked a few officials but was told there was 'nothing they could do.' One offered me something stiffer than the book I brought to put on my lap to fill out the ballot, but the more important problem was privacy."

New York

2008-11-04T15:10:00.000-05:00

queenoftheclick: @electionpatrol I voted! My voting booth wasn't crowded at all this afternoon. Brooklyn, NY.There is a ramp at the school for accessibility. 7 minutes ago from web in reply to ElectionPatrol

A Word From Our Sponsor

2008-11-04T15:09:00.000-05:00

ecoordinator: Get out the word, visit Dontblogmyvote.org or http://tinyurl.com/55hw9v and learn about what United Cerebral Palsy is doing this election!

Washington, DC

2008-11-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

UCPInfo: @electionpatrol Washington DC no lines, building and booths were accessible

DC, Virginia, Maryland Photos from WUSA Channel 9

2008-11-04T14:55:00.007-05:00

wusa9: View user-submitted election photos from DC/VA/MD area:

http://bit.ly/477A1z

#newsroomreport

Missouri

2008-11-04T13:47:00.000-05:00

6oclockvintage: RT @jamieLro In STL, legally-required curbside voting for disabled voters not available at some polling places. #votereport

Photo from Dayngr in Florida

2008-11-04T13:45:00.001-05:00

Dayngr: I wasn't on the list to vote! (Photo) http://tinyurl.com/6r2c2z

Ohio

2008-11-04T13:39:00.001-05:00

trishberg @electionpatrol I live in a rural area, and vote in a church. All went very well. Waited about 15 minuutes. City-Dalton; State, Ohio 18 minutes ago from web in reply to ElectionPatrol

Missouri

2008-11-04T13:36:00.000-05:00

MnIndyLIVE: Report from my election judge mom in STL, MO: 1/3 of precinct voted already; one touch-screen machine down; only a Dem challenger so far

Big Problems in Virginia

2008-11-04T13:24:00.003-05:00

866OURVOTE: Everyone: VA is THE story right now. We are calling for polls to be kept open extra 2 hours due to myriad of problems.

updates coming soon...

Michigan

2008-11-04T13:18:00.001-05:00

ryljeter in Detroit, Michigan (via text to Armetta Parker's fone):

In line at 6 AM, finished at 7:45. One machine was not working (Precinct 16 Ward 22) people were angry because they had to slide their ballots through a slot with the statement that they would be run through another machine later.
Also one fight broke out over a pregnant lady trying to take cuts because she said she couldn't stand that long. Voters felt she should have early or absentee voted because the poll workers were trying to give her some courtesy.

Photos from Florida

2008-11-04T13:15:00.002-05:00

Dayngr: Photo from my polling place as we pulled up -- http://snurl.com/53ojk 10 minutes ago from twhirl

Virginia

2008-11-04T13:10:00.000-05:00

Mamagoesgreen @ecoordinator polling location was Abingdon, VA and was very accessible, easy and efficient.

Arizona

2008-11-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

mandaxica007: Robbins Elementary library, Tucson, AZ handicap accessible

Ohio

2008-11-04T13:06:00.000-05:00

OH_observers: #EPOH #votereport SOS Brunner issues mid-day statement. avg wait time in Lucas is 1hr, only sporadic machine problems

http://is.gd/6kba

Barack and John cast Their Ballots

2008-11-04T13:04:00.001-05:00

wusa9: Barack Obama Casts His Ballot : Barack Obama has cast his ballot in the election he hopes will make him the..

http://tinyurl.com/6e2ycw

wusa9: Republican John McCain Casts Ballot : Republican John McCain has cast his ballot at a church near his centr..

http://tinyurl.com/5hauzj

Maryland

2008-11-04T12:58:00.000-05:00

wusa9: In Maryland -- Long Lines, But Festive Spirit : Elections officials report few problems, despite heavy turn.. http://tinyurl.com/5nh5nq

Election Protection Update

2008-11-04T12:55:00.000-05:00

866OURVOTE: As of 12:30, we have received over 41,000 calls on our hotline TODAY alone 1 minute ago from web

Massachussetts

2008-11-04T12:50:00.001-05:00

Deborah909: I had to wait 45 minutes to vote (Beacon Hill, Boston, MA), but I voted! #votereport about 5 hours ago from web

UPDATE:

Deborah909: #votereport #wait:45 But things were moving smoothly inside the polling station #02114 about 4 hours ago from web

Virginia

2008-11-04T12:48:00.001-05:00

60clovkvintage: In response to complaints the Virginia Board of Elections is directing polling places to assist elderly & disabled voters:

http://is.gd/6kcL

Florida

2008-11-04T12:45:00.001-05:00

Dayngr @electionpatrol Short lines @ Hialeah, Florida Precint 329-379 at 8:45 AM. Access great. No special area for the disabled though. 4 minutes ago from twhirl in reply to ElectionPatrol

UPDATE:

Dayngr: I actually had a little trouble @ the polls today. My name was missing from the list and the computer. They had to call in!

Florida

2008-11-04T12:18:00.002-05:00

dreaminaction @ElectionPatrol (early vote) Dwntwn Orlando, Florida Library was accessible as far as getting to polling area. No wheelchair accessible booths... 5 minutes ago from web in reply to ElectionPatrol

UPDATE:

dreaminaction @ElectionPatrol I was offered a magnification sheet and assistance if I needed it. 4 minutes ago from web in reply to ElectionPatrol

Minnesota

2008-11-04T12:15:00.001-05:00

MNvotes: FromPiPress:Power out for~90 min at 2 St. Paul precincts.Voting went on.

http://tinyurl.com/6lzlna

#mnvotes #votereport

Massachussetts

2008-11-04T12:06:00.000-05:00

kgilnack @electionpatrol no wait in Dorchester MA as of 9 am. MA residents: don't forget there are questions on the back of the ballot, too!

Minnesota Tweet Updates Digest from MNVotes

2008-11-04T12:03:00.001-05:00

MNvotes: See all #mnvotes tweets here:

http://tinyurl.com/6x27yj

Tennessee

2008-11-04T11:53:00.000-05:00

sunrisestuffers @ElectionPatrol our facility was very accessible, although there were candidate signs at the entrance to the school in Sparta, Tennessee

Virginia

2008-11-04T11:52:00.001-05:00

ecoordinator @electionpatrol I didn't encounter any accessibility problems. Voted at Lee H.S. in Franconia/Springfield (Alexandria) Virginia. 16 minutes ago from web in reply to ElectionPatrol

Maryland

2008-11-04T11:47:00.003-05:00

mcpark: not enough electronic check in machines in Sliver Spring, Maryland. long lines. poll workers are trying to calm down stressed out people. waited in line 3 hours.

UPDATE (from Armetta Parker's Phone):

Here's my experience in Montgomery County, MD Election Precinct 13-47

Early voters took 3.5 hrs from start of line to completing vote. It took me 2.5 hrs.
election workers were going through the line escorting anyone with a disability, pregnant, needing to sit or go inside to use the restrooms to come inside. They let Moms with babies come inside to wait and actually started asking folks in line if they would allow someone waiting to go ahead of them.

Once it started raining they looped the line differently to allow folks to have some cover; this was actually a better option for people with disabilities because it put most of the line on the accessible portion of the building entrance vs. having to separate people with disabilities to get them in.

the hold up was not voting booths; but having an adequate number of e-polling books to register people. poll watchers monitoring wait times convinced the election commission to let the judges use the "emergency" back up polling book. That made total of three and helped speed up the voting time.

Given the number of folks with visual impairment; I'm going to assume they had a screen reader polling station. This was my first time voting at this location( I know at previous polling locations they have). I did see a polling booth on a lowered table for someone with a physical disability.

Minnesota

2008-11-04T11:41:00.001-05:00

From a PiPresser:At 10am, St. Paul, Minnesota's Chelsea school in&out in 10 min. Parking easy.PiPresser was 999, wife was #1,000. #mnvotes #votereport 2 minutes ago from web

Voting Problems Digest from Election Protection

2008-11-04T11:31:00.000-05:00

866OURVOTE: An update on our developing stories at this hour:

http://is.gd/6jA1

VA, MI, and FL

Minnesota

2008-11-04T11:27:00.001-05:00

MNvotes: rt @mzangla #mnvotes #votereport poll 167thAv NW Ramsey, Minnesota #55303 enter 9:25 leave 9:40...crowded but line moving fast-many same day registers

Minnesota

2008-11-04T11:25:00.001-05:00

MNvotes: rt @quick13 One person who said she had handicap said she couldnt wait so was sent in diff entrance @St Peders Lutheran in Minneapolis, Minnesota #mnvotes #votereport

Virginia Voting Problems from Election Protection

2008-11-04T11:21:00.001-05:00

866OURVOTE: DEVELOPING STORY IN VIRGINIA

http://is.gd/6iGi

broken machines, long lines, lack of parking, unopen polls - dozens of calls

Voting Problems Digest from Election Protection

2008-11-04T11:17:00.000-05:00

866OURVOTE: Some of the reports we are getting in:

http://is.gd/6iFO

Voter intimidation, deception, absentee problems, more

Florida

2008-11-04T11:03:00.000-05:00

KaraSwims: @ElectionPatrol Miami, Florida polling station has no lowered booths for wheelchair users/lp's. "Nothing they can do" for private vote opp

Washington, DC

2008-11-04T11:01:00.003-05:00

lizreitz: @ElectionPatrol voting in NE DC a success - less than 10 minutes - no problems. Accessibility seems pretty good.

Minnesota

2008-11-04T11:01:00.001-05:00

MNvotes: The line at St. Paul, Minnesota Wilson International School took 40 minutes to get through (7 am - 7:40 am) #MNvotes #votereport

Minnesota

2008-11-04T11:00:00.002-05:00

MNvotes: There were 200 people in line at St. Paul, Minnesota Wilson International School at 7:02 a.m. #MNvotes #votereport

Massachussetts

2008-11-04T10:54:00.004-05:00

tikva: @votereport @electionpatrol #02141 No line, most staff did not know how to help w/accessible machine at Kings School in Cambridge, Massachussetts

UPDATE:

ElectionPatrol @tikva were you able to vote? 4 minutes ago from web in reply to tikva

tikva @ElectionPatrol - Yes, after the 3rd or 4th person fumbled w/the machine. The 1st one said she'd been trained, but "hadn't paid attention". 2 minutes ago from web in reply to ElectionPatrol

ElectionPatrol @tikva Thanks for the updates! (617) 727-2828 is the Mass. State Election Board btw, if you want to call them less than 5 seconds ago from web in reply to tikva

Ohio

2008-11-03T15:46:00.001-05:00

OH_observers: #EPOH #45505 Clark county, Ohio (Wittenberg Univ) #early voting #wait:180 = only 5 stations available for people to mark their ballots #votereport

20 Million Voters with Disabilities Expected This Year

2008-11-03T15:38:00.004-05:00

From PR Newswire:

"Voters with disabilities are expected to vote in record numbers on Election Day, according to the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), the largest cross-disability membership organization in the U.S.

About 20 million voters with disabilities are expected to cast their ballots in the general election, about a 10 percent increase from recent elections, showing America voters with disabilities are a powerful voting bloc that is gaining momentum, said Jim Dickson, Vice President for Government Affairs at AAPD..."

Twitter Patrol Press

2008-11-03T15:26:00.002-05:00

UCP's Twitter Patrol got a smidgen of press today. Hooray!

mlive.com and The Indiana University Center for Disability Information and Referral

Check it out!

Voting Problems Digest from Election Protection

2008-11-03T15:22:00.001-05:00

866OURVOTE: Different voting machine problems we've been getting:

http://is.gd/5qQH

-including Disability access problems, receipt issues, vote switching, more

Minnesota

2008-11-03T14:31:00.002-05:00

MNvotes: I've heard four reports from voters of early Minnesota voting going absolutely swimmingly.Any one else have experiences to add? #MNVotes

More Resources

2008-11-03T12:21:00.004-05:00

Election Protection is now following us on Twitter. So that means whatever we post on here is being monitored by their much larger operation. These are the folks who run the 1-866-Our-Vote hotline. You can call this number if you have any immediate and pressing election day concerns.

Also, note the resource link section to your right, which includes "Contact Your State Board of Elections." If you click through, it takes you to a list of the Boards of Elections for each state, provided by the Commission on Presidential Debates. If you want to talk directly to someone in your government, this is who you need to get in touch with.

Ohio

2008-11-03T00:41:00.005-05:00

OH_observers: #EPOH #43215 reports of Franklin County, Ohio using provisional absentee ballots for hundreds of absentee voters - any stats on these? #votereport

Ohio

2008-11-03T00:41:00.003-05:00

OH_observers: #EPOH #44115 Cuyahoga County, Ohio as of 11/1 46,100 (28D/1R/17I) in-house early absentee & 209,000 (119D/27R/60I) returned absentee ballots #votereport

Ohio

2008-11-03T00:40:00.002-05:00

OH_observers: #EPOH #44115 Cuyahoga County, Ohio 5000 absentee ballots voided and resent to voters, 2700 absentees with problems and won't be counted #votereport

Ohio

2008-11-03T00:39:00.002-05:00

OH_observers: #EPOH #44115 Cuyahoga County, Ohio sent out up to 100 duplicate absentee ballots (don't worry they only count one of them) #votereport http://is.gd/5zZs

Ohio

2008-11-01T15:10:00.002-04:00

OH_observers: #votereport #43215 #early #wait:180 three hour lines today at Vets Memorial early voting Columbus, Ohio http://is.gd/5nUG

Ohio

2008-11-01T15:09:00.001-04:00

OH_observers: #votereport #early #45385 #wait:180 reports of 3hr lines at Greene County, Ohio BOE early voting

Ohio

2008-11-01T15:04:00.001-04:00

OH_observers: #EPOH from 866 report -fake election officials letting people vote from parking lot in Columbus, Ohio #votereport #43204 http://tinyurl.com/6nfrmw

Everyone's doing it!

2008-10-30T17:26:00.009-04:00

From the Washington Post today:

"On Election Day, not only will every media outlet be covering the vote, but so will voters themselves who will have ample opportunity to Tweet, Digg, video, and IM the vote...when every voter is also a potential election observer, any shenanigans can and will be instantly broadcast over the Web and quickly picked up by the mainstream media. At least there will be a clear record that can serve as a starting point for later investigation if need be."

We couldn't say it better ourselves. But remember, out of all the folks who will be documenting their votes next Tuesday, how many of them will be looking out for things like wheelchair access? So Tweet, Digg, video and IM all you like, but above all make sure you hit us up first!

Welcome!

2008-10-27T14:19:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the official blog of the United Cerebral Palsy Election Day Twitter Patrol!

You can find us on Twitter at twitter.com/ElectionPatrol.

Check back here on November 4th for up to the minute tweet reports from disability issues voters across the country reporting on poll accessibility conditions in their cities. We'll sort out all the reports from here and let you know about any trouble spots for disabled voters. We'll also be liveblogging the election results and posting info on whom to contact in you're area to report problems at the polls.

But the best part about the Twitter Patrol is that it's so easy to join! In fact there's only three steps:

1)If you don't already have a Twitter account, get one!

2)Type "@ElectionPatrol Join!" into your update field and we'll start following you.

3) Then, on Election Day, simply send out a tweet about your polling place: Is it wheel-chair accessible? Are there long lines? Is all the equipment working properly? Etc... Your tweet will show up on this blog, and we'll tag it with relevant key words so other users can search for it.

It's that easy! So tell your friends, because the more Twitter Patrol members we have out there, the better. And in the meantime, you can follow us at: twitter.com/ElectionPatrol.

Send us a tweet today and we'll see you on November 4th,

UCP National Office