Home »
News &
Events » News Archive » 2001 Press Releases
NAACP and National Civil Rights Groups File Florida Voting Rights
Lawsuit to Eliminate Disparate, Unfair Voting Practices
January 10, 2001
MIAMI --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 filed an 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.
"This 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," Adora Obi Nweze, President of the
NAACP Florida State Conference.
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.
"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 didn't 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."
"It is ironic that the Supreme Court, in rendering its decision regarding the election, cited the Equal Protection clause of the U.S. Constitution," said Theodore M. Shaw, Associate Director-Counsel, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. "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."
"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."
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;
Adora Obi Nweze 305.995-1504; Diane Gross, The Lawyers Committee for
Civil Rights Under Law, 202. 662-8600; Howard Simon, American Civil
Liberties Union, 305.576.2337; Edward Jackson, the Advancement Project,
202.728.5997; Nathea Lee, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, 202.833-9771;
and Nancy Coleman, People for the American Way Foundation, 202.467.4999;
Lisa Versaci, PFAW Florida State Director, 305.573.7329.
made by ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard L. Simon addressing the mass disenfranchisement of minority voters in Florida.
- To read the complaint on-line, click here.
