23 August 2004

Lawmakers Want Ashcroft to Probe Recent Voter Intimidation in Florida

By Christine Phillip, BET.com Staff Writer

Posted August 23, 2004 – Six Democratic Congressmen from Florida are calling on Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate immediately charges that elderly voters were intimidated by the Florida law enforcement agents.

The call comes amid charges from Democrats that Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents, looking into suspected absentee ballot fraud during the Orlando mayoral race in March, targeted Black voters for questioning in an effort to suppress voter turnout.

“Injustice and voter intimidation are again showing their ugly faces in Florida,” Representatives Alcee Hastings, Corrine Brown, Kendrick Meek, Robert Wexler and Peter Deutsch wrote in a letter to Ashcroft; Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, also signed the letter. “These tactics, possibly knowingly and thoughtfully orchestrated, echo our continuous struggle for voting rights and must be stopped. We request that the Department of Justice immediately investigate and prepare to enjoin this threatening behavior.”

Read More >>

No comments: