Suppressing the Black Vote in Philadelphia

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, [here ] "Republican operatives working to re-elect President Bush" in battleground Pennsylvania "submitted last-minute requests in Philadelphia on Friday to relocate 63 polling places...Of the 63 requests for changes, 53 are in political divisions where the population of white voters is less than 10 percent." All 63 are "in political divisions where Democrats hold an overwhelming advantage among registered voters." The city denied the requests, saying they were filed too late to be eligible for a hearing and appeared to be "discriminatory." Challenged on the transparent attempt to make it more difficult for 37,000 -- mostly minority -- Philadelphians to vote, Republican Alderman Matt Robb pleaded discomfort with African-Americans. Robb said he allowed his name to be used on the request "because those polling places are in neighborhoods he doesn't wish to visit." [here] 'It's predominantly, 100 percent black,' he said. 'I'm just not going in there to get a knife in my back.'" [more ]