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January 2001 Case of the Month
Race and the Equal Right to Vote: NAACP v. Katherine Harris et al.
In order to help bring a better understanding of the Bill of Rights in action, the ACLU of Florida website posts a Case of the Month. Each month, we highlight either a current case before the courts or current issues that affect civil liberties. In discussing the case, we hope to offer extensive learning materials, including lesson plans, teacher handouts, and balanced information on key legal issues, the attorneys, plaintiffs and defendants involved in the case, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) that may be of help to teachers and students alike.
For January, we have selected a current high-profile case ? NAACP v. Katherine Harris, et al. - dealing with alleged voting irregularities that led to the disenfranchisement of thousands of minority voters during last November's presidential election. According to numerous reports and analyses of voting patterns and "precinct-by-precinct" trends, the votes of Black and of minority voters were discarded at higher rates than whites. Among other reasons, this was the result of the use of error-prone punch card voting machines that were disproportionately used in minority precincts. These balloting disparities are among the claims outlined in the suit, which was filed in a U.S. District Court in Miami on January 10, 2001. The attorneys for the plaintiffs include the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union, along with various other civil rights organizations. The groups are asking the court to mandate a uniform, state-of-the-art voting system that ensures minority voters are never again deprived of their right to vote.
The Case of the Month is designed to be a resource tool for teachers and students, as well as an opportunity for the general public to keep informed important civil liberties issues. With the public debate that the presidential election and the process by which America votes has initiated across the country, the Case of the Month is sure to provide needed information about one of the nation's most heated controversies in 2000.
The following information serves to summarize various voting methods and balloting problems in Florida, while explaining the federal Voting Rights Act, Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and other constitutional provisions and describing how they relate to voting rights.
- Overview
- Legal Issues
- Parties involved
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Lesson Plan
- NAACP v. Harris et al. (read complaint on-line)
