NAACP settles; Volusia county to open voting sites

Attorneys for the NAACP and Volusia County on Friday settled a voting rights lawsuit against Supervisor of Elections Deanie Lowe. The activist organization sued on Oct. 7 to force the county to open an additional early-voting site in Daytona Beach. Lowe had planned to open only one site -- at Department of Elections headquarters in DeLand. Representatives of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People argued that having only one site would disenfranchise black voters in east Volusia County. Under the agreement, the county will open additional sites at City Island Library in Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach Regional Library and Deltona Regional Library. All sites open at 8 a.m. Monday. "We've dismissed the case," NAACP attorney Johnathan Hurwitz said. "The NAACP is very pleased about how it turned out. We're glad the county decided to do the right thing." A federal judge still has to sign off on the agreement. [more ]