Chairman of the NAACP Julian Bond, left, speaks with Presidnt Bruce S. Gordon during a meeting Saturday Feb. 18, 2006 in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Posted on 02/18/2006 11:33:19 AM PST by Libloather
NAACP: Postpone New Orleans Election
By ERIN TEXEIRA, AP National Writer
15 minutes ago
Chairman of the NAACP Julian Bond, left, speaks with Presidnt Bruce S. Gordon during a meeting Saturday Feb. 18, 2006 in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
NEW YORK - The Department of Justice should postpone upcoming elections in New Orleans until displaced voters have been located, NAACP officials said Saturday.
"We're worried about the voting rights of our people in New Orleans who are not, for the most part, in New Orleans," said Bruce S. Gordon, NAACP president. "People should still have a say in what happens in the communities that were ravaged by Katrina."
Last week, Gordon asked U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to make sure election procedures are fair. The Voting Rights Act allows federal officials to scrutinize election changes that many hurt minorities.
"If it requires us to take legal action, we will fight this," Gordon said.
A Justice department spokesman did not return calls seeking comment.
Officials of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, speaking at the organization's annual board meeting, also called on Congress to renew parts of the Voting Rights Act that are due to expire next year and criticized the recent selection of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito.
Alito is a "radical judicial activist, a man hostile to civil rights and women's rights," said Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP.
Last week, Louisiana lawmakers approved plans to set up satellite voting centers in 10 state parishes and allow evacuees to vote by absentee ballot in the April 22 city elections. NAACP officials said that date is too soon.
Barely one-third of residents have returned to Orleans Parish, which was two-thirds black before Hurricane Katrina, according to estimates from the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. Tens of thousands of displaced people are still without permanent housing and mail delivery is delayed.
"Protecting voting rights is going to depend on the absentee ballot process," said John H. Jackson, NAACP chief policy officer. "The state has the burden of showing that they have accurate information for locating them. We don't want to have those ballots go out and have them never connect with individuals."
Kwame I. Asante, president of the NAACP's Baton Rouge branch, said: "We've received many calls from people who are asking, 'Where do we go? How do we register to vote?' ... It's too soon for many people."
It will always be too soon for many people.
Gee it's not too soon to have Mardi Gras.
Has it ever occured to Julian Bond that maybe the Katrina victims don't want to come back to New Orleans.
And this is the reason for all the fuss, the blacks are gone, and most won't be returning (I can't say I blame them). No one to buy votes from with 'special programs'. Bye bye voter base!
Well, how do they know who wants to return to NO and who doesn't? They don't. They never will. They want to leave Nagin in office forever, apparently.
I guess it hasn't occurred to them that there is such a thing as absentee ballots if the people want to vote in their old precincts.
And you can be darn sure that the Dims will have them vote absentee in NO and also in-person in the town where they are currently living.
What was that statistic from after Katrina?
Two thirds of those displaced said that they weren't coming back to Nawlins.
Face it, Bruce. There is no "there" ther. And there ain't no way you're getting 200,000 ghost voters, either.
Why oh why isn't it up to the VOTER to make sure they vote?
It's clear that "personal responsibility" isn't a very high priority in certain parts of society.
Funny thing about N'Awlins!They never had a problem bussing people to the polls,but when it came time to evacuate,well................................
Maybe Nagin will send those flooded buses to bring em' home?
Re: the title, still can't get over Alito: It's more like they can deal with fact that their slaves have moved on with their lives and are rebuilding elsewhere. Also, they can't deal with the fact the many have discovered that whites are not the devil, like those who were moved to Mormon communities in Utah, and those who lived in the homes of whites who opened their homes and hearts to them. How many people do JJ or Julian Bond have in their homes?
QUOTE: "...the voting rights of our people in New Orleans who are not, for the most part, in New Orleans,..."
Ummmm.... So people no longer living there are still able to select the mayor? How does that work?
Perhaps a grant from Hershey or Nestle (or Godiva, even) would help fund the effort to keep N.O. 'chocolate, and with Nutball Nagin, it should be delicious.
(sarc/off)
I'm going to N'Awlins on Thursday(23rd).I go to Mardi Gras every year because I'm a member of The Krewe of Orpheus.I'll post a report when I arrive home!
I guess Nagin or his family can't vote they live in TX>
thanks for the idea.
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