ELECTION 2004 MEDIA TIPS
Unprecedented turnout of “unlikely” voters expected as
civil rights lawyers prepare for potential battle

Washington – National voter hotlines, neighborhood carpools and a public probe that questions whether “America Is Ready To Vote” colors the far-flung landscape in the run-up to the 2004 Presidential election – a race that promises to invite the greatest media scrutiny in history.

The nation’s largest grassroots community organization has blended issue-organizing and neighbor-to-neighbor outreach to tally more than a million new voters – mostly minority and low income who largely constitute the force of “unlikely” voters. No poll has captured their numbers and their potential impact promises to surprise media and pundits on Election Day. But widely reported early warning signals suggest that the intensity of the election, historical barriers and the sheer number of new voters will conjure up massive legal challenges. This appraisal is a call to arms for the nation’s oldest civil rights law firm which has joined with other public interest organizations in an election protection campaign. Barriers and systemic problems may be widespread, predicts the head of the federal commission that conducted the most intensive inquiry of the Florida 2000 Presidential Election. She concludes that election reform has not risen to the challenges to correct an antiquated system and that citizens will have to rely on private monitors – not the Department of Justice or state and local elections officials – to help overcome barriers. An extensive policy review produced by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, “Is America Ready To Vote” provides invaluable background.

ELECTION NOTES

ACORN’s “UNLIKELY” VOTERS – The nation’s largest community organization of low and moderate-income families, ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) has launched one of the nation’s largest non- partisan voter mobilization campaigns, generating more than a million new voters. The election mobilization has been paired with organizing around better housing, living wages and improvements in public education. As a result of ACORN’s outreach, state totals soared above expectations in key states including Florida, 212,971 new voters; Ohio, 168,869; Pennsylvania, 130,307; and Michigan, 85,195. Between now and November 2, nearly 10,000 ACORN members and volunteers will be reaching an estimated million new and infrequent voters on their doorstops. For more details on GOTV activities in 75 cities, interviews with community-based election foot soldiers and other background, contact: Jack Pannell 202-833-9771 ext 116.

LDF FACES OLD FOES, NEW CHALLENGES – Immersed in the business of election protection that predates the Voting Rights Act, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund has reaffirmed its commitment to assure that African Americans gain full access to the ballot. Providing legal representation to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during his organizing campaigns, LDF challenged infamous poll taxes four decades ago and the persistent and new barriers of the 21st Century. The nation’s oldest civil rights law firm joins with other public interest organizations in a National Election Protection Program (EPP) to give all eligible voters unfettered access to the elections process. LDF attorneys will help staff a national voter hotline (1-866-OUR-VOTE), providing legal resources and trouble-shooting for voters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. LDF legal monitors will also be deployed across the country, preparing for potential court challenges to barriers and denials of voter access. To arrange interviews or receive updates on hotline complaints before and during the election, contact: Elizabeth Jenkins 202-833-9771 ext. 103.

WATCHDOG PROBES 2004 ELECTION – Widely cited for committing the most extensive probe of the Florida 2000 Presidential race, the United States Commission on Civil Rights opened this election season with a four-session series of public briefings under the banner, “Is America Ready To Vote.” The Commission activities included release of a policy paper (www.usccr.gov) and testimony of experts on electronic voting, provisional balloting, and inclusion of minority youth and students in the electoral process. The Commission, scheduled to release an updated report on the public briefings, concludes that despite efforts at reform in the aftermath of the election debacles of 2000, our nation remains plagued by bureaucratic and systemic barriers that deny all citizens full political participation. The Commission underscores the importance of public interest election monitors which will answer a void unfilled by federal, state and local government. For copies of the Commission reports or interviews contact: Laura Hart 202-833-9771 ext 110.

ELECTION 2004 VIEWS AND VOICES

Mary Frances Berry, chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, provides insights on the conduct of the election and compares the current landscape to the 2000 Election. She insists that the Department of Justice and other officials responsible for assuring fair elections have not inspired the confidence of the public because of its over-emphasis on fraud investigations instead of focusing on overturning barriers to access.

Jacqueline Berrien, associate director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, is one of the nation’s leading experts in voting and political participation. She is assisting in the coordination of a massive election protection program that includes a national hotline and legal monitors.

Steve Kest, executive director of ACORN, has envisioned and overseen the direction of the ACORN’s model of grassroots activism since 1990. He started in the trenches as an ACORN organizer in 1975, and now directs ACORN’s organizing work in 700 neighborhood chapters in 75 cities across the country.

Theodore M. Shaw, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund is one of the nation’s most respected civil rights lawyers and heads the organization that has been involved in virtually every Voting Rights case since adoption of the Act.

Charlene Sinclair, ACORN’s DC national director, is no stranger to grassroots politics. As a single mother from Richmond, Virginia, Charlene is a tireless defender of working families. She has worked on housing development, lead abatement and homeless issues.

back to news releases >