Ramblings' Journal

NAA(L)CP sending monitors to FL Primaries

The NAACP is sending lawyers and election workers to monitor the August 31 Florida Primary election -- and to "help" voters who may have "trouble" casting their ballots.

"The NAACP will not allow another 2000 voter fiasco to occur," said NAACP President and CEO Kweisi Mfume. "We will have observers and lawyers on the ground to assist voters and to make sure they are not intimidated. Our goal is to see that all eligible voters register and vote, and that every vote is counted."

Mfume said the NAACP decided to send a rapid-response team to the Florida primary, following reports that elderly black voters may have been harassed and intimidated during last spring's mayoral race in Orlando -- and because of "recent attempts by state officials to illegally purge over 2,000 registered voters."

To "help" voters? I hope you excuse me if I find that not only disingenuous, but suspicious as well.

"The election of local leaders and the next president of the United States is too important to trust the process to Florida election officials," Mfume said. "We saw what happened the last time we did that," he added.

The NAACP calls itself a nonpartisan group, but it supports liberal causes, and its members have given an enthusiastic reception to Democratic candidates -- most recently, Sen. John F. Kerry, who spoke at the group's annual convention.

I certainly want the election process to remain above board, but at the same time, I am very suspicious of Mfume and the NAACP's motives.

Deigning to "help confused voters" in light of their partisan stance, smacks of attempts to "drive" the election's outcome.

Posted by mhking at August 25, 2004 10:03 AM