The truth about Rehnquist's sad record of voter intimidation
The Senate Judiciary Committee's 1986 hearings on William Rehnquist's nomination as chief justice were darkened amid allegations that, in the 1960s, the nominee had participated in Republican efforts to intimidate African American and Hispanic voters at polling places in Phoenix.
Witnesses who testified to his coercive practices were James J. Brosnahan, a former Federal prosecutor; Dr. Sydney Smith, a psychologist who was a professor at Arizona State University at the time; Charles Pine, former chairman of the Arizona Democratic Party, and State Senator Manuel Pena, a Phoenix Democrat.
This snippet about their testimony is from Stuart Taylor, Jr., "4 Rebut Testimony by Rehnquist on challenging of voters in 60's," New York Times, 8.2.86:
Mr. Brosnahan [while investigating complaints of voter harassment at a Phoenix polling place on Election Day 1962] said he had been told and was confident from the circumstances that Mr. Rehnquist [whom he knew personally] had been challenging voters and upsetting them, apparently in an effort to slow the vote in the precinct, which was predominantly Democratic and had many minority voters.
....Dr. Smith said that on Election Day in 1960 or 1962 he had been at a predominately black precinct when Mr. Rehnquist drove up and approached two blacks standing in line.
He said Mr. Rehnquist held up a white card and said: "You don't know how to read, do you? You don't belong in this line, and you should leave."
Justice Rehnquist, asked on Wednesday about a similar account Dr. Smith had given to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, testified that Dr. Smith "is mistaken" and that he had never done such a thing or otherwise challenged voters on the ground of illiteracy.
It was legal in Arizona until 1964 to challenge voters as unqualified if there was a reason to believe they were illiterate, Mr. Brosnahan testified, but not to harass or intimidate voters or stop everyone in line without reason to believe they were unqualified.
Mr. Brosnahan, the former Federal prosecutor, testified that that on Election Day in 1962 he had gone to a precinct in "predominantly Hispanic and black" southern Phoenix to investigate some of the numerous complaints that Republican workers were challenging voter qualifications so aggressively as to constitute harassment.
"At that polling place I saw William Rehnquist, who was known to me," he said. "He was serving, on that day, as a challenger of voters. That is to say, the complaints had to do with his conduct."
....Senator Pena said that on Nov. 3, 1964, he had confronted a Republican worker at a precinct where he "was questioning everybody" waiting to vote about their qualifications. He said he had a long and tense exchange with this man at one point going "eyeball to eyeball" and shoving him, and that the Republican had "balled up his fist."
"A few years later I saw a picture in the paper of William Rehnquist and I recognized him in the picture as the person who was doing the challenging," he said.
Melvin J. Mirkin, a Phoenix lawyer, said that in 1960 or 1962, he saw Mr. Rehnquist telling other Republicans that they should challenge "illiterates" and others not qualified to vote.
This made those in line "nervous," Mr. Mirkin said. He said he had threatened to call the sheriff if Mr. Rehnquist did not stop it.
Statement of Melvin J. Mirkin: William Rehnquist's conduct "resulted in voter intimidation."
Statement of Charles Pine: "I saw [William Rehnquist] challenging individuals, and I saw him do it illegally."
qnet.com |
