-Caveat Lector-
{{Amazing!! Out of the "thousands" they came up with only three under OATH
and penalty of perjury if found lying. And these three DID vote, actually,
they just had "concerns." Well, I suppose it is fun to "play" Civil Rights
Activist for wannabees born too late. It does afford bigots with an
unwarranted prejudice against another region of the country to show what
asses they are, too. Remember where you read it first. Now whose claims
are "outrageous, untrue and refuted"? Not mine! Watch CSPAN ll for full
coverage today. AKE}}
Testimony shows no suppression of voters in Florida
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Visit our Election 2000 page
for daily election news and analysis
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - None of three black voters called as witnesses
before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, investigating charges of a
"conspiracy" to block minority voters, could show yesterday that they had
been denied their right to vote in the Nov. 7 election. Top Stories
The key leadoff witnesses -John Nelson, the Rev. Willie D. Whiting and
Roberta Tucker, all of Tallahassee - testified under oath that they had
concerns and had read about problems concerning voter irregularities, but
that all of them had voted at their polling precincts.
Mr. Nelson said he saw unmanned police cars near separate polling
precincts on Election Day and thought that was "unusual." Mr. Whiting said
his name had been purged from the voting rolls after he had wrongly been
identified as a felon, but he was allowed to vote after a call to an
election supervisor. Miss Tucker said she was stopped at a police roadblock
near a polling place, but she was allowed to proceed after producing a valid
driver's license.
The commission, which voted unanimously last month to investigate
accusations by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People of widespread voter fraud involving
minorities, could not explain why no witnesses were called to verify the
accusations.
The hearing continues today and again next month in Miami.
Meanwhile, Gov. Jeb Bush told the commission that a preliminary
investigation into the charges found no evidence of wrongdoing, but
inquiries by both state and federal authorities are continuing.
Mr. Bush, subpoenaed to appear before the commission, said he was
"confident" the Florida Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Justice
Department would uncover voter irregularities if they exist.
"I am confident that the attorney general's office and the U.S.
Department of Justice are the proper authorities to deal with these issues,"
Mr. Bush told the commission, adding that he had appointed a separate task
force headed by former Florida Attorney General Jim Smith to look into
widespread problems involving voting procedures and faulty equipment.
The state task force began its hearings on Monday and has until March 1
to make recommendations to the governor prior to the start of the state's
legislative session.
The Civil Rights Commission voted to begin an investigation after Mr.
Jackson and the NAACP said Florida officials and law enforcement authorities
had engaged in a conspiracy to deny minority voters access to the polls.
Commission Chairwoman Mary Frances Berry described the accusations as
"a very serious problem" and told reporters that "we know some bad things
happened," despite the fact the commission was unable yesterday to produce a
single witness during the day-long hearing to say they had been denied
access to a polling precinct.
Mr. Bush told the commission that the roadblock in Tallahassee reported
by Miss Tucker had been set up two miles from a polling precinct as part of
a random police check on drivers and vehicles. Law enforcement authorities
confirmed that 150 vehicles were stopped and 18 warnings were issued, a
dozen to white motorists. They said the officers stopped every fifth
vehicle, without regard to the occupant's race.
The governor did not elaborate on the Justice Department probe, only
confirming that it was under way. Justice Department officials have said
only that lawyers from its civil right division had been in Florida, but
that no decision had yet been made on whether a formal investigation would
be undertaken.
Mrs. Berry said she had not yet reached any conclusion on whether there
was "a systematic conspiracy to discriminate" against minority voters, but
said state officials were responsible for ensuring that elections are "fair
and efficient."
"I am religiously and studiously avoiding reaching any conclusion of
what happened here," she said. "I have not concluded that there was a
conspiracy."
She also noted that Florida law allows the governor to appoint "special
officers to investigate violations of election law," but had not yet decided
whether the evidence was sufficient to suggest that he should have done so.
"I just don't know yet," she said.
Mrs. Berry also suggested that Florida's election failures were
probably "bipartisan," since voters in both Republican and Democratic
counties experienced problems.
Last month, Mr. Jackson - who is not scheduled to testify before the
commission - accused Mr. Bush and Florida Secretary of State Katherine
Harris of organizing the election to deny blacks and other minority voters
access to the polls. During a rally here, he said a "pattern of voter
suppression" by state officials and law enforcement officers prohibited
minorities from entering polling precincts throughout the state, allowing
Texas Gov. George W. Bush to "steal" the election.
Mr. Jackson accused Mr. Bush of ordering the placement of state police
near polling precincts to intimidate minority voters.
The NAACP also charged that minority voters had been prevented from
casting ballots, adding that "voter intimidation, voter-eligibility
discrepancies and illegal tactics" took place before and during the
election.
NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said polling places had been relocated
without notice, some voters were denied access to polling booths, polling
places refused to provide bilingual ballots as required by law and police
officers intimidated and harassed minority voters.
The NAACP filed a lawsuit this week, with other civil rights
organizations, accusing Mr. Bush, Mrs. Harris and others of suspected
wrongdoing during the Nov. 7 elections. The suit said black voters and
others were disenfranchised by institutionalized racism and called for
sweeping changes in how Florida elections are operated.
The presidential election was decided by Florida's 25 electoral votes,
which went to George W. Bush. Turnout among black voters increased by 70
percent in the November election over 1996, with 93 percent of the black
vote going to Vice President Al Gore.
The commission voted last month to hold the hearings, with Edward
Hailes, the commission's general counsel, saying the panel would probe
voting machine irregularities, altered ballots, limited access to polling
places and the presence of police that might have deterred some people from
voting.
The hearings continue today, with Mrs. Harris and Florida Attorney
General Robert S. Butterworth scheduled to testify. Also on the agenda are
Col. Charles C. Hall, head of the Florida Highway Patrol, and L. Clayton
Roberts, director of the Florida Division of Elections.
Visit our Election 2000 page
for daily election news and analysis
Back to Nation/Politics
Updated at 10:00 a.m.
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