FCNL: 18 days left to election day: help protect voting rights

[Guest guest]

18 DAYS LEFT TO ELECTION DAY: HELP PROTECT VOTING RIGHTS

 

 

 

Voters Facing Voting Rights Violations: Civil rights organizations have been

receiving troubling reports of voter suppression, particularly in

African-American communities. Some recent examples from advocacy organizations

and the media:

 

 

 

* Florida: Armed law officers went to the homes of elderly African-Americans to

question them about voting irregularities in a recent mayoral election. Mi

Familia Vota (My Family Votes) was ordered by the Homeland Security Department

to stop registering voters outside a Miami Beach building where new citizens

were being sworn in. PFAW Foundation, Advancement Project, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, and

SEIU have filed a suit in federal court against Florida Secretary of State

Glenda Hood and five county election officials over practices that could

disenfranchise thousands of voters. (Sources: New York Times editorial 10/07/04,

PFAW.org)

 

 

 

* In South Dakota's June 2004 primary, Native American voters were prevented

from voting after they were challenged to provide photo IDs, which they were not

required to present under state or federal law. (PFAW/NAACP report)

 

 

 

* In Kentucky in July 2004, black Republican officials asked their state GOP

party chairman to renounce plans to place " vote challengers " in African-American

precincts during the coming elections. (PFAW/NAACP report)

 

 

 

* Michigan state Rep. John Pappageorge (R-Troy) told the Detroit Free Press this

summer, " If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough

time in this election. " Eighty-three percent of Detroit’s population is

African-American. (PFAW/NAACP report)

 

 

 

* Staff at federally run Indian Health Service hospitals and clinics in New

Mexico were barred from registering patients to vote. (Washington Post 10/06/04)

 

 

 

* A former employee has accused a Republican-funded private voter registration

company of destroying Democrat voters’ registration forms in Nevada, as reported

by KLAS-TV (http://www.klas-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2421595 & nav=168XRvNe)

 

 

 

* The People for the American Way has reported suppression efforts in the last

four years in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Texas, South Dakota, Arkansas,

North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee. Ohio, and Colorado.

 

 

 

ACTION: Protect Voting Rights

 

You can help voters exercise their right to vote on November 2

 

 

 

Election Protection (http://www.electionprotection2004.org/): Become a volunteer

poll monitor. Sign up on the Election Protection coalition’s web site or by

calling 1-866-204-1941. Check out the web site which includes Voters' Bills of

Rights, state resource pages (not all states are represented), and information

on protecting the rights of homeless voters. Distribute their toll free Election

Day hotline number: 1-866-Our-Vote.

 

League of Women Voters (http://www.lwv.org/): Print and distribute " Five Things

You Need to Know on Election Day " and other key information.

 

 

 

National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO)

(http://www.naleo.org/): Spread the word on NALEO’s " Ve Y Vota " Go Vote

bilingual hotline:1-888-Ve-Y-Vota, which is running now through Election Day.

 

 

 

Rock the Vote (http://www.rockthevote.com/rtv_campuscamp_monitor.php): Support

students’ voting rights by distributing student voting information and signing

Rock the Vote’s petition to election officials.

 

 

 

Other voter protection efforts include Impact 2004 (http://www.impact2004.org/),

a national network of law students engaged in nonpartisan voter protection

efforts, and Verified Voting’s Techwatch project, which is training

computer-skilled volunteers to monitor and report on electronic voting practices

(http://www.verifiedvoting.org/article.php?id=5128).

 

 

 

For more background on voter disenfranchisement, check with the Leadership

Conference on Civil Rights. (http://www.civilrights.org/issues/voting/care.html)

 

 

 

GOT YOUR VOTE 2004 PINS AND STICKERS YET?

 

FCNL supporters are raving about how popular these materials have been,

particularly the Vote 2004 pins and the “Build Democracy: Vote” bumper stickers.

Stories have been coming in about high demand from students, teachers, and

tablers at markets and fairs. We encourage you to order Vote 2004 materials by

October 20 to ensure timely delivery of your materials. Order today

(http://www.fcnl.org/elections/materials.htm)!

 

 

 

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) Young-Friends list provides

updates on future events and discussion on topics such as peace and civil

liberties.

 

____________________________

 

Join FCNL’s Build Democracy Vote Campaign:

 

http://www.fcnl.org/elections_2004.htm

 

 

 

Contact Congress and the Administration:

 

http://capwiz.com/fconl/dbq/officials/

 

 

 

Order FCNL publications and “War is Not the Answer” and Vote campaign bumper

stickers, buttons, and yard signs:

 

http://www.fcnl.org/newinfo/special_pub.htm

 

http://www.fcnl.org/elections/materials.htm

 

http://www.fcnl.org/iraq-war.htm

 

 

 

Un to this list: Send a message with the word “” to

young-friends-request. Or send an email to jennifer with your

request.

 

 

 

Subscribe to other FCNL legislative, policy, and action alert lists:

 

http://www.fcnl.org/listserv/quaker_issues.php

 

 

 

______________________

 

Friends Committee on National Legislation

 

245 Second St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-5795

 

fcnl * www.fcnl.org

 

 

 

phone: (202)547-6000 * toll-free: (800)630-1330

 

 

 

We seek a world free of war and the threat of war

 

We seek a society with equity and justice for all

 

We seek a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled

 

We seek an earth restored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://pets.care2.com/

 

" The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men. " --

Plato

" Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing

health care to all Americans is socialism. " -- anon