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U.S. Department of Justice Delays Implementation of Florida Election
Reform Act,Asks for More Information on Florida Equal Voting Rights
Project Concerns
August 20, 2001
MIAMI -- The Florida Equal Voting Rights Project applauded a decision today by the Department of Justice to delay implementation of the Florida Election Reform Act while requesting additional information regarding concerns raised by the Project. The request for more information effectively halts implementation of the Act until the Department of Justice can be assured that none of the voting changes will prove discriminatory toward minorities.
The Project's July 18, 2001 letter to the DOJ specifically objected to three aspects of the omnibus Florida electoral reform act as adversely affecting minority voters: (1) the posting of the Voter Responsibilities list that harkens back to literacy tests; (2) the new felony purge process; and (3) the disqualification process for provisional ballots.
The letter from Joseph Rich, Acting Chief of the DOJ Civil Rights Division's Voting Section, to Attorney General Robert Butterworth addresses each of the three Project concerns, questioning in particular "the origin and basis for inclusion of each of the enumerated items under the 'Responsibility' portion" and asking for "a description of any alternatives or amendments proposed thereto including the reasons for their rejection." The letter also requests "a description of the extent, if any, to which election officials or poll workers are authorized to enforce compliance with any of the 'Responsibilities' and how any such enforcement would be effectuated."
"The DOJ has taken an excellent first step in recognizing the gravity of the Project's concerns that these sections will disenfranchise minority voters," stated Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida.
The Florida electoral reform package, passed by the state legislature this past spring, was submitted to the DOJ for pre-approval in five Florida counties whose history of discrimination against minority voters requires preclearance for voting changes. While preclearance is necessary only for Monroe, Hendry, Hardee, Hillsborough and Collier Counties, failure to obtain the DOJ's approval would likely have statewide impact.
"We are heartened by the fact that the Department of Justice is taking our concerns seriously," stated JoNel Newman, Project Co-Director and counsel on Major v. Sawyer, a related suit filed filed by the Project last week to challenge the sections in question. "We are certain that with more information, DOJ officials will reach the same conclusion that we have ? that some of these electoral reforms push minorities voters back into the past rather than moving us all into the future."
