NAACP National Voter Fund Announcement

NAACP National Voter Fund Calls for States and Local Election Boards to Honor All Good Faith Voter Registration Forms

10/6/2004 11:20:00 AM

To: National Desk, Political Reporter

Contact: Scott Treibitz, 703-276-2772 ext. 11; or Andi Pringle, 202-898-0969; both for the NAACP National Voter Fund

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by the NAACP National Voter Fund:

-- NAACP National Voter Fund Calls for States and Local Election Boards to Honor All Good Faith Voter Registration Forms

-- 225,000 New Voters Registered This Cycle; Close to 1/2 Million Since 2000

-- Spokespeople Available for Interviews and Talk Shows

Election officials across the country should honor any voter registration form submitted in good faith, even if individuals have made minor errors, urged the head of the non-partisan NAACP National Voter Fund (NVF).

NVF Executive Director Greg Moore made his public appeal at a forum sponsored by Unity '04. He announced that NVF had registered 225,000 new voters as part of its Empowerment 2004 campaign. The voter registration period ended in 13 states across the country Monday and by Friday, 31 states will have closed their voter rolls.

Moore said while he is encouraged with the incredible efforts people have made to fill out registration forms in order to vote, he is discouraged with word from across the nation that thousands of forms are being thrown out by election boards finding excuses to disenfranchise people.

"If someone has taken the time to fill out a voter registration application, then they should be able to vote," said Moore. "We can't allow people who made a good faith effort to register to vote, to be forced to vote with a provisional ballot. Local election boards need to reach out to these voters and have the forms corrected before the election."

The newly registered voters by NVF are concentrated in the 11 states of, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, New Jersey and California. The largest increase in registered voters was in Ohio where the NVF registered 80,000 people. In Texas 26,000 were registered and in Nevada 11,000.

"These number are more impressive when you factor in the well- documented cases of intimidation and other political barriers used to depress the vote of minorities," said Moore.

Moore points to Ohio where Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, just days before the end of the registration period, ordered local elections boards to send out new applications to individuals who submitted registration forms on any paper other than 80-pound stock. Because of pressure from a number of organizations, including elections boards, he has since reversed his order.

"Blackwell knew that local election boards would not have had the time to comply with the order prior to the deadline. Without the outside pressure to force his hand, this potentially could have cost thousands of people the right to vote," said Moore. "Why are we continuing to add barriers to our basic fundamental right? We need to make voting easier, not harder."

That was the aim of the "Helping America Vote Act" (HAVA). Following the 2000 presidential election, Congress passed HAVA, allocating federal matching funds to overhaul America's voting infrastructure. However, the money had not been released to the states until recently. This has caused voting rights activists great frustration. "How are states going to improve their voting infrastructure before the election when they get the funds 30-days out?" said Moore.

The NVF Empowerment 2004 campaign, a dual-track voter mobilization and voter education program, is focusing on increasing African American civic participation. Beginning next week, NVF will kickoff its education and get-out-the-vote effort anchored by town hall meetings and targeted media buys.

NVF states were selected for a variety of reasons, primarily the existence of a strong NAACP membership, crucial social, economic and political concerns important to the Association, and large numbers of unregistered African Americans.

"Our goal is to bring as many voters to the polls in both parties as possible," said Moore. "We want people, especially those who have been traditionally disenfranchised, to have an impact in every possible political circumstance that can renew our commitment to the country."

To educate and galvanize communities of color, NVF has utilized grassroots organizing and modern campaign techniques such as direct mailing, media partnerships, phone bank messaging, neighborhood canvassing, bus touring and other special events.

Since its founding, NVF, in conjunction with a number of NAACP State conferences and local branches, has had a profound impact on the African American participation in the electoral processes. NVF has worked in over 20 states, registering close to 500,000 new voters since 2000 and mobilizing over one million voters who voted in various elections across the nation. The results of the NVF'S effort have led to historic increases in African American voter participation.