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ACLU Hosts Series of Community Forums on Voting Rights and Election Practices in Florida
March 15, 2001
The Greater Miami Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida will host a series of three community forums on the election process, focusing on everything from dimpled chads and error-ridden punch cards to allegations of minority disenfranchisement in last November's election fiasco.
The first forum will be at 8 p.m. March 19 at Books and Books, 265 Aragon Avenue, in Coral Gables. Monday's discussion will focus on the overall election process and problems that voters encountered when casting their ballots this past November.
Participants in the first forum are: David C. Leahy, Miami-Dade County Election Supervisor, who will discuss local voting methods and proposed improvements in voting systems such as the use of optical-scanners or the more advanced computer touch-screens.
Thomasina Williams, local counsel in the NAACP v. Harris lawsuit, will also be a panel member. The lawsuit, filed by a coalition of civil rights organizations, including the ACLU of Florida, alleges that unfair voting practices across the state disenfranchised thousands of minority voters.
Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey, a member of the team of lawyers who represented former Vice-President Al Gore in a post-election challenge of the Florida results, will discuss the handling of voting irregularities by state officials and judges following the election. Coffey, who successfully represented Miami Mayor Joe Carollo in the voter fraud case against Xavier Suarez, also will talk about voter fraud issues.
The second community forum, scheduled for April 23, will focus on the complex legal issues and arguments that arose following the Presidential Election. Attorneys who were involved in the various post-election lawsuits will discuss the strategies of both major-party candidates.
The third forum, scheduled for May 14, will include discussions on how to improve Florida's voting system to ensure that voters are never again deprived of their right to cast ballots, and that every vote is accurately recorded.
This series of public forums is part of the ACLU of Florida's efforts to reform the ways Floridians vote. The organization recently established the Florida Equal Voting Rights Project, in collaboration with the Florida Justice Institute and Florida Legal Services. On March 14, attorneys for the project filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of black lawmakers, several ex-offenders and community groups challenging the state's failure to assist ex-felons in applying for the restoration of their civil rights.
All meetings begin at 8 p.m. at Books & Books, 265 Aragon Avenue in Coral Gables. For more information, call Alessandra Soler, ACLU of Florida Public Education Coordinator, at (305) 576-2337.
