Home » About » Newsletters » February 2001
"Civil rights groups file suit challenging voting methods"
By Alessandra Soler
Editor/Public Education Director
On January 10th, a coalition of civil rights organizations filed an historic lawsuit to eliminate discriminatory and unequal voting policies and practices in Florida's electoral system. The lawsuit was filed by 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.
"This lawsuit is the first in a series of comprehensive steps that will reform the way Florida votes," said ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon. "There is a lot to be done in the courts, the legislature, and before county election boards in order to make sure that every citizen not only has a right to vote, but that every vote is accurately recorded. Clearly that did not happen in this past election and we're going to make sure that the debacle of the November elections is not repeated the next time Floridians go to the polls."
During the 2000 Presidential Election, the ACLU, NAACP and various other civil rights groups received complaints from thousands of voters about various aspects of the state's voting process. Civil rights lawyers were immediately sent to Florida to interview witnesses. On November 11, 2000, the NAACP held a hearing in Miami to highlight the extent of the violations of state and federal laws.
This 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, the wrongful purging of black voters from official voter lists, the failure to properly process voter registrations, and the establishment of unjustifiable barriers to vote.
This wasn't the ACLU's only action during the November elections. Working in conjunction with our National Voting Rights Project, based in Atlanta, the ACLU filed amicus curiae briefs in both the Palm Beach County Circuit Court and the 4th District Court of Appeal challenging the now-infamous Palm Beach County "butterfly ballot" that disenfranchised thousands of voters who "overvoted" or mistakenly voted for Reform Party Candidate Pat Buchanan. The ACLU urged the Court to use its power to remedy the ballot confusion, including ordering a new countywide election.
The ACLU also filed an amicus curiae brief in the U. S. Supreme Court defending the authority of the Florida Supreme Court to interpret and resolve conflicts in State law. The ACLU's Brief also supported the Court's ruling that permitted an extension of time for the hand recount of disputed ballots.
