Kweisi Mfume, President & CEO, National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) hailed the second
settlement on May 9th of the voting irregularities lawsuit brought
against the state of Florida and some of its counties in 2001.
Mfume said, "This is another step in correcting a terrible
wrong that happened in Florida. We are confident that
additional settlement talks currently underway with the
remaining defendants will yield similar results before our
August court date."
Broward County election officials, one of the defendants
named in the case, agreed to revise their laws and voting
procedures to make it easier for all legal voters to cast
ballots. Following the November 2000 Election Day debacle,
the NAACP held a hearing in which several witnesses testified
to Election Day irregularities. Last month Leon County
officials reached a similar settlement.
Remaining defendants in the lawsuit include former Secretary
of State, Katherine Harris, the state's election director,
Choicepoint, Inc. d/b/a Database Technologies, Inc., Florida
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and
Florida Department of Children and Families.
Broward and Leon County election officials agreed to provide
a written explanation to voters when ballots are rejected,
review disputes over voter registration, the voting process
and voting lists. Officials also agreed to meet with community
groups to boost registration, with a special focus on
minorities and college students.
During the election, voting problems throughout the state
were found in precincts with large numbers of black and
elderly voters.
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