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Are New Orleans Evacuees Being Denied the Right to Vote?
We look at how Hurricane Katrina is affecting the political power of New Orleans residents. Upcoming local elections will include a race for mayor with only one black candidate – incumbent Ray Nagin. Lawyers have filed a lawsuit alleging Louisiana’s emergency election plan will disenfranchise thousands of displaced voters, the majority of whom are African-American.
Local elections in New Orleans are set for April. Among other races, voters will cast ballots for mayor. Incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin is facing challenges from more than half a dozen contestants but remains the only black candidate in the race.
Last week, the Advancement Project filed a federal lawsuit challenging election plans for New Orleans, alleging the plan puts too much emphasis on absentee voting and would keep blacks out of office. According to the lawsuit, Louisiana’s emergency election plan following Hurricane Katrina will disenfranchise thousands of displaced voters, the vast majority of whom are African-American, therefore violating the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
* Penda Hair, Co-Director of the Advancement Project and former Director of the Washington, D.C. office of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/16/1525226
Last week, the Advancement Project filed a federal lawsuit challenging election plans for New Orleans, alleging the plan puts too much emphasis on absentee voting and would keep blacks out of office. According to the lawsuit, Louisiana’s emergency election plan following Hurricane Katrina will disenfranchise thousands of displaced voters, the vast majority of whom are African-American, therefore violating the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
* Penda Hair, Co-Director of the Advancement Project and former Director of the Washington, D.C. office of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/16/1525226
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Well, let's all vote! Who cares if we don't live there! The "evacuees" don't either, but never mind! Sorry, but when you've been living in Houston or Atlanta for six months, you are no longer a resident of New Orleans, which means you can't vote there. Your registration is irrelevant when you have moved away. This is just another sad attempt to resurrect the usual Democratic voter fraud to keep the grip on power that is slipping away. Those days are over.
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