POLICE INTIMIDATION OF BLACK PANHANDLE VOTERS ALLEGED.
According to Bob Poe, Chairman for the Florida Democratic Party, reported irregularities...also include, he said, lesser known reports of possible voter intimidation in certain African-American precincts and possibly thousands of lost votes due to a possible computer glitch. “There are a lot of questions here, there are a lot of angry Floridians,” Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Jenny Backus said today. “People are talking about taking away somebody’s constitutional right to vote, there are thousands, literally thousands of reports of irregularities.” Jesse Jackson said he got calls on Election Day complaining that blacks had difficulty voting in Florida and other southern states. Jackson said some voters were told there were no more ballots, or that polls were closed. “What we need is not just a recount by hand, but also a thorough investigation, ” Jackson said. Poe told ABCNEWS.com Democrats had received reports of intimidation of voters in the largely African-American precincts of Wakulla County on the Florida panhandle. Reports suggest “highway patrol troopers were stationed outside of those precincts with lights flashing and ticketing people,” he said. “It was bizarre, it was like going back into the early 1900s,” he said. “Even in a tiny town like Wakulla and those African-American precincts, that could account for the 2,000 [Gore votes] right there,” he said." --ABC NEWS, 11/8/00 |
