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Nationwide Screening of Documentary on Florida's 2000 Presidential
Election Premieres at the Lyric Theatre
September 11,2002
MIAMI ? After last week's election day voting fiasco, a new independent documentary premiering Tuesday takes an inside look at glaring voting problems that made headlines during the November 2000 Presidential Election and still remain unsolved today.
Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election sheds light on Florida's electoral process during the last presidential election, raising questions about the handling of voting irregularities by state officials and judges, the need to update antiquated voting systems, and of course the disenfranchisement of minority voters. The film highlights those on the front lines ? from the black voters who were turned away from the polls to a Gore supporter who mistakenly voted for Pat Buchanan on the controversial "butterfly" ballot ? and features interviews with Florida's community leaders, including Haitian activist Marleine Bastien, civil rights attorney Thomasina Williams and Florida ACLU Executive Director Howard Simon.
"This riveting film is not about reopening old partisan wounds," said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida. "Instead, it exposes those parts of the Florida electoral process still in need of meaningful reform."
The nationwide premiere of the independent documentary will be at 8 p.m. September 17 at Miami's historic Lyric Theater, 819 NW Second Ave. The event is open to the general public. Tickets are $5. (Seating is limited; Call 305-576-2337 ext. 17 to purchase tickets in advance).
Produced and directed by Los Angeles filmmakers Richard Ray Pérez and Joan Sekler, the documentary "has everything ? drama, personalities and a story that's important to tell: the way both sides handled things, not from the vantage point of the 'general good,' but from a perspective of a narrow self-interest," said executive producer Robert Greenwald, of the nonprofit Public Interest Pictures.
The ACLU of Florida began its efforts at electoral reform shortly after the November 2000 election with the creation of a Florida Equal Voting Rights Project in partnership with the Florida Justice Institute and Florida Legal Services. The Project has worked to assist ex-felons in regaining their right to vote, filing targeted litigation to require the Department of Corrections to provide rights restoration assistance to ex-felons as required by law. In an effort to heighten public awareness of the fact that approximately 31 percent of all black men in Florida are barred from voting because of prior felony convictions, the Project also coordinated dozens of rights restoration workshops throughout the state to apply pressure on the current clemency application system. The Project also filed written objections with the United States Department of Justice to prevent the racially discriminatory impact of some of Florida's new electoral reform laws and to address the issue of voter rights when going to the polls.
For information on additional screenings or purchasing information, visit www.unprecedented.org
