F A C I N G S O U T H July 27, 2004 * Issue 85
INSTITUTE INDEX * Elections at Risk Number of "felons" purged from Florida's voter lists in the 2000 elections: 173,000 Number that weren't felons and were wrongfully barred from voting: 50,000 Number of "felons" Florida had planned to remove from voter rolls in 2004: 47,000 Number on list that are African-American: 22,000 Number on list that have been granted clemency and shouldn't be on the list: 2,100 Percent of Florida's African-American population that live in counties with the most unreliable voting machines: 53 Number of presidential votes lost due to election system failures in 2000, in millions: 4 to 6 Sources on file at the Institute for Southern Studies. _____ DATELINE: THE SOUTH * Top Stories Around the Region ALL EYES ON FLORIDA ELECTIONS Just weeks after defending both the quality and secrecy of a list of 47,000 suspected felons to be purged from Florida voting lists, the state's elections office is now scrambling to explain why the list was so flawed that it had to be scrapped. Among other findings, reporters discovered that the list only contained the names of 61 Hispanics, who tend to vote Republican, despite the fact that Hispanics make up 11% of the prison population. (Palm Beach Post, 7/24) http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/auto/epaper/editions/today/news_1410ed51d432d15200dc.html *** RELATED: New law adds hurdle to ex-felon voting in Florida http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/072404Z.shtml 40 YEARS LATER, FREEDOM MOVEMENT VETERANS GET RESPECT Forty years ago this summer, the Democratic Party convention was rocked by the spectacle of the party clashing over whether to seat white segregationists or integrated freedom fighters from Mississippi. This year in Boston, a delegation of Misssissippi movement veterans be honored at the Democratic National Convention. (New York Times, 7/25/04) http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/072604E.shtml OIL REFINERIES USE CLOUT TO HOLD OFF REGULATION Petroleum is not just the nation's No. 1 source of energy. Refineries are often the lifeblood of many communities. With battalions of top-gun lawyers and lobbyists, they have influenced the nation's energy policy and fought regulatory crackdowns on pollution. And their political action committees pump millions of dollars into the coffers of powerful elected leaders in Washington. (Star-Telegram, 7/19) http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/nation/9189098.htm?1c LEADER OF GOP SENATE EFFORT OUTED The man heading up the effort by Republicans to keep control of the United States Senate is the latest gay politico to be outed by local activists, who claim they are pointing to the hypocrisy of a party that opposes gay rights but has many gay leaders. The director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee who works for Virginia Sen. George Allen declined tocomment on efforts to publicize his sexual orientation. (Washington Blade, 7/23) http://www.washingtonblade.com/2004/7-23/news/national/leaderout.cfm THE LEGACY OF THE RAINBOW 20 years ago, progressives were electrified by the candidacy of Jesse Jackson, whose campaign registered millions of new voters and created a multi-racial coalition in a bid for the Democratic Party nomination in 1984 and 1988. What's the legacy of the Rainbow Coalition? (The Nation, 7/15) http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040802&s=wypijewski CRUNK DOMINATES THE AIRWAVES Hip-hop from Dixie has been ascendant for years, but a glance at the Billboard charts reveals that the lurching beats and bellowed choruses of Southern crunk have become 2004's defining pop sound. But what is it? (Slate, 7/20) http://slate.msn.com/id/2103955/ -------------------------------------------------------------- Please Note: Due to Florida's very broad public records law, most written communications to or from College employees regarding College business are public records, available to the public and media upon request. Therefore, this e-mail communication may be subject to public disclosure.
