Link via ACT: PDF report from the NAACP documenting recent instances of voter intimidation, misdirection, etc., aimed at suppressing the minority vote, with invariably pro-Republican results.
We've all heard the recent, high-profile examples: the supposed "election fraud" investigation targetting the Orlando black population, right on the heels of the latest felon purge list in Florida. But the things happening at a more local level are
- This summer, Michigan state Rep. John Pappageorge (R-Troy) was quoted in the Detroit Free Press as saying, "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election."
- In 2002 in Louisiana, flyers were distributed in African American communities telling voters they could go to the polls on Tuesday, December 10th three days after a Senate runoff election was actually held.
- In 2003 in Philadelphia, voters in African American areas were systematically challenged by men carrying clipboards, driving a fleet of some 300 sedans with magnetic signs designed to look like law enforcement insignia.
And that's why I'm spending my remaining free weekends in this hemisphere doing get-out-the-vote canvassing.
Posted by mill1974 at August 30, 2004 3:53 PM | TrackBack