University students will have a friend watching out for their rights tomorrow when they go to vote.

Election Protection, a non- partisan coalition of more than 50 groups ranging from Rock the Vote to the League of Women Voters, will have 25,000 volunteers in 17 swing states on election day. Two thousand of those volunteers will be stationed in Cleveland and the surrounding area of Cuyahoga County, according to Christine Patronik-Holder, a spokeswoman for the group.

A specific number of volunteers was unavailable for Lucas and Wood counties, but Patronik-Holder said northwest Ohio would be a focal point tomorrow.

Students whose registration information is challenged on election day have been encouraged to call 1-866-OUR-VOTE. By calling this number voters will be able to register a complaint, and will have the opportunity to pursue legal action.

Citizens can also approach Election Protection representatives outside of polling places.

“Our volunteers will be there to provide information for anyone who feels they’ve had a problem,” Patronik-Holder said. “They will be equipped with cell phones, and can put voters in contact with a lawyer immediately after they’ve been disenfranchised.”

Local student activist group Reach Out will also have members stationed outside of polling places in Bowling Green tomorrow, ready to document any trouble and provide voters with an opportunity to call the Election Protection toll-free number.

While the group is prepared for anything, Reach Out President Jeff Nolish advises all citizens to know their rights going in and come prepared with the proper materials to make voting a smooth process.

“Everyone should have two pieces of ID,” he said. “Everyone is also allowed to bring a candidate slate or voter guide into the booth with them.”

Potential voters may be happy to hear that a legal blow was struck Saturday in their favor in an attempt to limit complications and intimidation that would have come from partisan challengers stationed at Ohio polling places tomorrow.

In Cleveland, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge John P. O’Donnell issued a permanent injunction barring more than one Democrat or Republican challenger from being allowed inside polling places.

This legal decision overruled Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, who issued a directive on Wednesday that would have allowed political parties to assign a challenger for each voting precinct in the state. Because several precincts are often gathered into one polling place, multiple challengers would have been able to show up and question the legitimacy of citizens’ voting information on election day.

While the O’Donnell ruling may be trumped by pending federal court cases, similar cases have arisen in Cincinnati and Akron.

According to a story in the Oct. 23 New York Times, the Republican Party has registered 3,600 challengers in Ohio, while the Democratic Party has registered 2,000. Although neither party can add more challengers, Blackwell’s directive would have allowed the parties to concentrate multiple challengers at polling places in the state that housed the most precincts. Republican and Democratic challengers could also have been concentrated by their parties in areas of the state where their opponent held opinion poll leads prior to the election.

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that the Ohio Republican Party has promised to aggressively challenge the legality of voters tomorrow, with the belief that many are fraudulently registered. In the Times report, the Democratic Party said that its challengers would not try and bar anyone from voting. Instead, their focus would be to ensure that no one was wrongly deprived of their right to vote. A challenger can contest a prospective voter if they are believed not to be: a citizen, at least 18 years old, voting in the county where he or she lives or a resident of Ohio for at least 30 consecutive days before the election.

Under Judge O’Donnell’s ruling, only one challenger from each party should be allowed in a polling place. The legal decision also ordered Blackwell to inform county officials across the state of the new rules by 8 p.m. last night.

According to a report by the Cincinnati Enquirer on Oct. 25, Blackwell had also issued an order last month for Ohio voter registration forms to be thrown out if they were not printed on heavy enough paper, potentially leaving many citizens with little time to re-register. The Secretary of State rescinded the order after Democrats pointed out the fact that Blackwell’s own registration forms weren’t printed on the correct paper.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.