Volunteers and Rapid Response Teams Responded to Calls on Election Day to Protect Voter Access and Voter Safety
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2026
CONTACT:
Zindy Marquez
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
zmarquez@clccrul.org
Brandon Lee
Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
blee@icirr.org
Volunteers and Rapid Response Teams Responded to Calls on Election Day to Protect Voter Access and Voter Safety
Illinois voters made calls to the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE and ICIRR Family Support Network Hotline at 855-435-7693, and volunteers resolved issues
CHICAGO, IL, March 17, 2026: Today, nonpartisan voting rights advocates, poll monitors and watchers, and rapid response team members mobilized to defend democracy and protect the right to vote. Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago coordinated efforts to protect voter access as looming threats of potential federal overreach persisted leading up to the Illinois primary election.
Throughout the day, our teams assisted voters with issues that came up such as late opening of polling place locations, improper requests for identification from voters, improper use of provisional ballots, electioneering, and police presence at polling locations that caused confusion, discomfort, and in some cases, intimidation.
“We are grateful to have served as a reliable, nonpartisan resource that voters could turn to today as they navigated the voting process, which can sometimes include barriers or be confusing,” said Ami Gandhi, Director of the Midwest Voting Rights Program with Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights. “Our incredible volunteers with the nonpartisan Election Protection program successfully assisted voters and resolved issues quickly to ensure that eligible voters could cast their ballots and have their voices heard in this election. We urge election officials to continue listening to community partner feedback and voter input to effectively prepare for the November general election.”
Despite increasing fear leading up to today about the potential of federal immigration enforcement at polling sites, the rapid response network coordinated by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) reported no confirmed instances of immigration enforcement taking place at polling sites that affected voters.
“It’s clear that protecting voter access and ensuring community safety is truly a people-powered effort,” said Fred Tsao, Senior Policy Counsel at ICIRR. “Thanks to our coordinated efforts, volunteers and rapid response teams today could respond quickly to voters showing up at the polls and casting their ballots and help ensure that they felt safe to do so. ICIRR’s Family Support Hotline remains a critical resource for communities across the state.”
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago’s poll monitoring effort protected the right to vote at polling sites in precincts with a high number of limited English proficient residents. At a time when both immigrant rights and the right to vote are under attack, volunteers headed to polling sites to monitor for compliance as well as intimidation from ICE or anti-immigrant groups.
“Today our trained poll monitoring team worked to ensure that voters in Chicago and the suburbs, including immigrants and those whose dominant language is not English, were able to participate in democracy and be heard in this election,” said Grace Pai, Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | Chicago. “Our team’s Election Day coverage and responsiveness demonstrates the critical role of community-based, nonpartisan Election Protection programs in ensuring compliance with the Voting Rights Act and local language access ordinances, and protecting the right to vote for all eligible citizens.”
Both the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE and the ICIRR Family Support Network Hotline at 855-435-7693 will continue to be available now through the general election in November later this year.
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