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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CYBERKEN who wrote (172125)	8/16/2001 7:12:11 PM
From: Gordon A. Langston	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Florida Voters Sue for Right to Be Ignorant NewsMax.com Wires Thursday, Aug. 16, 2001 MIAMI - An activist group and an individual voter sued Florida and Monroe County elections officials in federal court Wednesday. They claim that sections of the Florida Election Reform Act of 2001, such as advice to study the issues and bring ID, are somehow "racially discriminatory" and violate federal law. At issue in Major vs. Sawyer is a provision of the Florida law requiring the posting of a list of voter responsibilities at all polling places. This list includes requirements that voters: "study and know candidates and issues," "bring proper identification to the polling station," and "know how to operate voting equipment." The Right to Be Ignorant The federal Voting Rights Act prohibits any requirement that voters be able to show they can read, write, understand or interpret any matter or show any knowledge of any subject. Randall Marshall, legal director for ACLU Foundation of Florida, said he did not believe the voter responsibilities lists had been posted in any elections held since the law was passed this year. Nonetheless, he said the provisions troubled him. "Election officials in a particular precinct haven't had that much training, and when they see this list they may believe that it's their duty to determine whether someone has adequately studied the issues," Marshall said. "We're certainly not complaining about the voters' bill of rights. That's appropriate, but the voters' responsibilities list places a burden on voters that is more properly with the elections supervisors." The lawsuit also seeks to delay implementation of a felon purging process and provisional ballot system until they have been reviewed and approved by the U.S. Department of Justice. Voting Without ID The provisional ballots are designed to allow people to vote who have appeared at the wrong precinct. It also objects to the requirement that voters present picture identification, even though Florida law allows those without ID to sign an affidavit. These provisions are believed to have a greater effect on black and Hispanic voters, who are more likely to move frequently and be poor than whites, according to recent census data. "I know elderly people here who have never driven a car in their entire lives," Florida Voters League member Norma Jean Sawyer said. "They don't have photo ID. You tell them ID is required and give them no options, and they will not vote." "Provisional ballots are a great idea, but if there's one thing that we all learned from the Nov. 20 elections, it's that the right to vote is meaningless unless that vote is counted," Marshall said. He said that under the new law, people who show up at the wrong precinct will be given a provisional ballot. "The way the law is written, if someone votes in the wrong precinct on a provisional ballot, the vote will not be counted," he said. "The way this was drafted, it almost ensures some votes will not be counted." Rights Without Responsibilities "There were a lot of good things that came out of the legislature in terms of voters' rights, but the voters' responsibility is a throwback to the days of literacy tests," Marshall said. "The purpose of the lawsuit is to remove impediments from exercising the right to vote." Neither Marshall nor Sawyer addressed issues of voter fraud - a major problem in the 2000 elections - and how illegal votes disenfranchise legitimate voters. Key West resident Charles Major, the individual plaintiff in the lawsuit, filed with a group that calls itself Florida Equal Voting Rights Project, said he wanted what he referred to as more progress in voting changes to allow more voters to cast ballots. "This suit sends a clear message that electoral reform must move us forward, not take us back," Major said. "We are in 2001, heading into 2002. We should not be going backward to a time before there were any civil rights laws." The Florida Election Reform Act was passed in the wake of the November 2000 presidential election after some voters claimed they could not tell who they had voted for on punch-card ballots in Democrat-run Palm Beach County, and many illegitimate votes were disqualified. In some areas, minority voters claimed they had been turned away at the polls. Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris and Monroe County Elections Supervisor Harry Sawyer Jr. are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Harris spokesman David Host said only one of the three provisions at issue was part of Harris' original reform legislation, the Associated Press reported. "Nevertheless, as chief elections officer, she will vigorously carry out her duty to defend all of these provisions," Host said. Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.