Demonstrate against Voter Intimidation

Thursday January 22nd at 11:30am, on the steps of City Hall an emerging grassroots, electoral coalition of people of color will hold a press conference to demand that the City Attorney, the Secretary of State, and various City Commissions expand their investigative probe into DPW officials alleged misconduct in December’s Mayoral run-off contest. As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, and told to the SF Human Rights Commission, African American street cleaners of a non-profit organization, SLUG, were pressured to vote for Gavin Newsom and walk precincts on election day by their supervisors in close collaboration with a high-ranking DPW official, Mohammed Nuru.

In light of these developments and in keeping with the founding principles of our Coalition’s formation, to preserve and protect the voting and civil rights of communities of color, our Coalition demands that the City Attorney and Secretary of State deepen their investigation and include:

+ Probing of over 150 incidents of documented voter abuse, intimidation and
fraud detected by members of an anti-Voter Fraud Unit in the Matt Gonzalez for Mayor Campaign.

+ Initiate pro-active steps by the City to ensure that an on-going, permanent voter
fraud unit be established at the Department of Elections;

+ Fund and publicize a City-wide 1-800-Multilingual Voter Fraud Reporting Hotline to assist authorities with uncovering and detecting voting rights violations in the City’s neighborhood precincts and absentee balloting campaigns that may have occurred, in widespread fashion, during November and December’s, 2003 Mayoral contest.

The damage and demoralization that has already impacted (particularly in communities of color) the confidence of the City’s electorate since this scandal broke, demands that City officials and City Commissions restore integrity and accountability to future elections in San Francisco, and eliminate any vestige of institutionalized discrimination that further disenfranchises voters in communities of color.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Thursday, January 22, 2004, 11:30am at
Steps of City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place