Millions of U.S. citizens, including a
disproportionate number of black voters, will be blocked from voting in
the Nov. 2 presidential election because of legal barriers, faulty
procedures or dirty tricks, according to civil rights and legal
experts. The largest category of those legally disenfranchised consists
of almost 5 million former felons who have served prison sentences and
been deprived of the right to vote under laws that have roots in the
post-Civil War 19th century and were aimed at preventing black
Americans from voting. But millions of other votes in the 2000
presidential election were lost due to clerical and administrative
errors while civil rights organizations have cataloged numerous tactics
aimed at suppressing black voter turnout. Polls consistently find that
black Americans overwhelmingly vote for Democrats. "There are
individuals and officials who are actively trying to stop people from
voting who they think will vote against their party and that nearly
always means stopping black people from voting Democratic," said Mary
Frances Berry, head of the U.S. Commission on Human Rights. [more ]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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