For
Immediate Release
January
10, 2001
NAACP and National Civil Rights
Groups File Florida Voting Rights Lawsuit to Eliminate
Unfair Voting Practices
WASHINGTON,
D.C. --The National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP), along with The Advancement Project,
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation,
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law,
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and People for
the American Way Foundation today filed a historic lawsuit
in Florida to eliminate discriminatory and unequal voting
policies and practices from Florida's electoral system.
The
lawsuit was announced at simultaneous press conferences
in Washington, DC and Miami, Fla.
Kweisi Mfume, NAACP President & CEO, said the lawsuit
is part of an effort to "restore justice to the thousands
of black and other voters who were denied the right to
have their vote counted on November 7, 2000." Mfume
said: "There was evidence of massive voter disenfranchisement
of people of color during the presidential election. The
election in Florida was conducted in a manner which was
unfair, illegal, immoral and undemocratic."
Starting
on Election Day, the NAACP national and Florida offices,
as well as many other civil rights organizations, received
calls from black voters and others who had been turned
away from the polls or had trouble casting their ballots.
Civil rights lawyers were immediately sent to Florida
to interview witnesses and on November 11, 2000, the NAACP
held a hearing in Miami to highlight the extent of the
violations of state and federal law.
Today's
lawsuit stems from that investigation and alleges that
the disparate and unfair voting practices across the state
resulted in the invalidation of a disproportionate number
of ballots cast by black voters for President, the wrongful
purge of black voters from official voter lists, a failure
to properly process registrations of black voters, and
the establishment of unjustifiable barriers to black voters.
This
lawsuit seeks fundamental change to the voting practices
in Florida to make them fair and equal for all Floridians.
Specifically, it asks that election practices in Florida,
which result in the denial of the right of Florida citizens
to vote on account of race, color or any other discriminatory
manner be stopped immediately and that fair and non-discriminatory
procedures be put into place by the state of Florida.
Lawsuit
"The
people's vote is the people's voice, but in Florida thousands
of African American and Haitian American voices were silenced
on November 7," said Ralph G. Neas, President of
People For the American Way Foundation. "We're involved
in this court action to make sure that Florida officials
who failed the voters on Election Day know that they must
correct the problems that caused these injustices and
make it their top priority to assure that they are never
repeated."
"Black
voters in Florida came out in record numbers on November
7th to
exercise their constitutional rights to
vote," said Barbara Arnwine, Executive Director of
the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. "It
is shameful that qualified voters were prevented from
voting or from having their vote count because they were
purged from registration rolls or because they used voting
machines that did not accurately record a vote. These
measures have become the literacy tests of the new millennium.
These and other practices unlawfully suppressed the black
vote. We need to ensure that in our democracy this unfair
disenfranchisement never happens again."
Theodore
M. Shaw, Associate Director-Counsel, the NAACP Legal Defense
Fund, said: "It is ironic that the Supreme Court,
in rendering its decision regarding the election, cited
the Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
That amendment was adopted to protect recently freed slaves,
yet thousands of African Americans were denied the vote
in Florida. That is why we are going to court - to ensure
that the Equal Protection clause serves its original purpose.
Whatever other purposes it might serve, it certainly should
serve its original purpose - to protect African American
voters from disenfranchisement."
"Many
of the plaintiffs and thousands of African American class
members made extraordinary efforts to vote but were disenfranchised
by illegal purges, poorly trained poll workers and other
discriminatory practices," said Penda Hair, Co-Director
of the Advancement Project, a Washington, D.C. based social
and legal action group. "This lawsuit challenges
Florida State and local officials to fix their discriminatory
voting system and to ensure that such abuses never again
deny the precious right to vote."
"
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court's decision halting the
manual recount focused more on dimpled chads than disenfranchised
voters," said Steven R.Shapiro, Legal Director of
the national ACLU. "But despite its limited focus,
the Court nonetheless made clear that every vote must
be given equal weight under the Constitution. By bringing
this lawsuit, we are doing nothing more than taking the
Supreme Court at its word."
Founded
in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation's oldest and largest
civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and
youth members throughout the United States and the world
are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities,
conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity
in the public and private sectors.
CONTACT:
NAACP Office of Communications 410.486.9227: Diane Gross,
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, 202.
662-8600; Emily Whitfield, American Civil Liberties Union,
212.549.2566; Edward Jackson, the Advancement Project,
2.728.5997; Nathea Lee, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, 202.833-9771;
and Nancy Coleman, People for the American Way Foundation,
202.467.4999.
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