In an effort to divert a repeat of the 2000 Florida fiasco, national and local volunteers are preparing to protect the rights of voters on Tuesday.

Four years ago, some voters complained after voting privileges were denied, people were intimidated at the polls and ballots were lost or not counted.

Similar complaints and low voter turnout in Lansing helped spur Michelle Johnson and Genevieve Humenay to start Lansing Voters Matter, a group energized to protect the rights of local voters, said Johnson, the executive director.

The organization is working to contact residents in areas of the city with the lowest voter turnout rates to encourage them to vote and to inform them of their voting rights. On Election Day, the group will provide rides to the polls and assistance to voters whose rights are being compromised.

On a national level, more than 100 different state and local organizations combined to form The Election Protection Coalition, a group that will be watching the polling stations closely. The Coalition plans to send about 25,000 volunteers, including 6,000 attorneys and law students, to the polls to ensure that the rights of voters are upheld.

"The right to vote is the most basic, most fundamental civil right," said Valerie Simmons, chairwoman of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission. "Everything else flows from that right. If we can't protect the right to vote, how are we going to protect all of our other rights?"

Simmons said sometimes voters' rights are challenged outside the polling station. Voters need to be prepared and aware of their rights before they cast their ballot, she said.

"If you are a citizen and you are 18 years of age and you are not serving time in some prison somewhere and you are registered, you have the right to vote," she said.

The Michigan Department of Civil Rights, the active arm of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, has been distributing both English- and Spanish-language pamphlets that outline rights of voters.

"Our concern is more that everyone who wants to vote, does vote, and have their vote counted," said Harold Core, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.

The potential for problems exists, but Core said he doesn't expect Michigan to experience trouble similar to those in Florida in 2000.

"We are expecting that everyone's vote is counted," Core said. "That's an optimistic expectation."

But Linda Potter, executive director of United Cerebral Palsy Michigan Inc., said she is still concerned that some people with disabilities will be discouraged from voting.

"The concern is there are still some polling places that aren't accessible," she said. "A lot of polling places have improved and that's good." Potter has urged the disabilities community to visit polling places and call their respective city clerks before election day to ensure they will have adequate access to the polls.

Accommodating voters with disabilities has been a concern for the Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, said Ken Silfven, an office spokesman.

"There have been a lot of strides made," Silfven said. "It will take some more time, but I think we're getting there."