Voting groups step up assistance programs (Intimidate, go to jail)

[Nambe]

Washington (NNPA)

If nothing else, the fiasco of the 2000 presidential election alerted activists and legal experts that they must take a different and more comprehensive approach this year to make sure the Black vote is cast and counted.

“The good news is that as a result of 2000, we have learned that we must do things differently this year to protect voters’ rights,” says Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law. “If they try to intimidate African-American voters, if they try to run the illegal suppression scheme, we’re going to be there to catch them. If they try to challenge Black folk without any basis, we’re going to have them thrown in jail if we can. And if we can’t get them thrown in jail, we’re going to have them thrown out of the polls.”

A non-partisan program called Election Protection, being led by National Coalition on Black Civil Participation, an umbrella group of more than 80 organizations, including the D.C.-based Lawyers Committee and People for the American Way, will be on guard this time around, Arnwine says. More than 6,000 volunteer lawyers and law students will be staffing precincts around the country and a toll free telephone hotline will be staffed by some 500 lawyers and voting rights experts. The toll free number is 1-866-OUR-VOTE or 1-866- 687-8683.

“It is a critical new device to help voters,” Arnwine says. “There are hundreds of us who are working on this program. So, when they get there, they’re going to see the NAACP, National Urban League, National Bar Association, the American Bar Association, local bar associations, they’re going to find us there in droves. And they’re going to find that this year, they are not alone.”

[DeadHead67]

1. Does this REALLY mean that we won't have another Florida 2000 ?

I am truly concerned that this time it won't just be Florida but EVERYWHERE! What's being done about Diebold and the magic electronic voting machines which insure that everyone votes republican?!!! Is this going to be a REAL effort or a bunch of self-congratulatory and useless committee nonsense? I personally don't know what to do, other than making sure that everybody I'm aware of is a:registered, and b:gets to the polls. Suggestions?

[Zan_of_Texas]

2. My take on it.....

I've been studying the voting situation for over a year.

Now, every group and their brother is going to WATCH on election day -- I can't keep track of them all.

Watching will deter some of the blatant intimidation tactics used in minority communities, hopefully.

It won't prevent the kind of voter roll stuff that Katherine Harris did in Florida in 2000, and that her successor (Florida Sec. of State) tried before people noticed and pushed hard to get it exposed.

NONE of it will PREVENT electronic vote fraud. You can watch all day long and you can't tell what's going on inside the black box, unless the fraud is extra blatant. With practice, they're going to get better and more subtle at it, too.

I suggest going to www.votersunite.org and study the proposal for PAPER BALLOTS for president, senate and US House. Then get 10 people to take action on it.

Paper ballots can be put in place for THIS election in November. But, 218 members of the US House and 51 members of the US Senate need to pass it. Immediately. Emergency!

[Ravy]

4. While I won't disagree with you on paper ballots...

... watching DID prevent the kind of voter roll stuff that Katherine Harris did prior to the 2000 election. It is going to take a lot of people watching everything in every which way possible. Verifiable votes are an important piece of the puzzle, but not the only one.

Your paper ballot initiative is a good one. But let's not downplay the efforts of others engaged in the same overall goals of a fair election.

[struggle4progress]

3. You Have the Right to Vote

<snip>
Election Protection is a non-partisan coalition of civil rights and civic organizations committed to protecting the right of all citizens to cast a ballot on Election Day. The Lawyers' Committee and our coalition partners take a prospective approach to voter disenfranchisement by concentrating our efforts both on and before Election Day. In addition to providing immediate solutions for voters experiencing problems, the program accomplishes this goal by developing strategies to identify and respond to problems before Election Day through grassroots efforts, education and outreach to voters and election officials, and litigation. The program combines extensive, state specific legal research and resources with a coordinated grassroots field campaign. In addition, national media outlets, such as the Tom Joyner Morning Show, have endorsed the program and agreed to publicize the efforts of the coalition. The culmination of the coalition’s activities is an Election Day hotline (1-866-OUR VOTE) that offers immediate, legal assistance to voters. In addition to drawing from our national Election Protection coalition partners for support and volunteers, the 2004 Election Protection Program has enlisted the support and help of an ever increasing list of strategic partners.

The Election Protection Program was created in the wake of the pervasive voting irregularities experienced disproportionately in minority communities during the 2000 Presidential Election cycle. Since that time, the Lawyers' Committee and our coalition partners have conducted EP programs covering contests across the country.
<snip>

http://www.lawyerscomm.org/ep04/epintro.html