NorthStar's Operation Big Vote

NAACP Warns Black Citizens to Prepare for Roadblocks to Voting in 2012

Black voters should be aware well in advance of the November 2012 presidential election that many states have enacted “voter suppression” legislation, warns the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

The legislation could make it difficult for African Americans to register to vote or to cast ballots on Election Day. If black voters are aware of the new laws, they can prepare themselves to blunt any challenges that election officials may use to prevent them from casting ballots, the NAACP said.

"Within the past year, many states have enacted measures, which will have the result of restricting access to the voting booth," the NAACP said. "These new laws are in stark opposition to the NAACP's mission and mandate, which has been to strengthen our nation's democracy and the civil rights and civil liberties of all Americans by maximizing voter participation and protecting voters' rights."

The NAACP said 5.3 million Americans could be affected by the new rules and lose their Constitutional right to vote.

As examples of laws that will make it more difficult for many people to vote, the NAACP cited:

·    Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin have passed legislation requiring residents to produce a state-issued photo identification card in order to vote.  The U.S. Justice Department recently refused to back South Carolina's photo-identification law because officials determined the law would disenfranchise large numbers of African-American voters.

·    Florida, Georgia, Maine, Tennessee and West Virginia enhanced restrictions on early or absentee voting.

·     Florida and Iowa have passed laws making it more difficult for ex-felony offenders to vote.  The Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that seeks alternatives to incarceration, said because of racial disparities in the criminal-justice system an estimated 13 percent of black men are unable to vote.

·    Wisconsin has extended the time an individual must be a state resident before he or she will be allowed to register to vote.

·    Alabama, Kansas and Tennessee require voters to produce documents certifying that they are U.S. citizens.

·    Florida, Maine, Ohio and Wisconsin have enacted laws that place restrictions on when people can register to vote.

·     Florida and Texas have placed severe restrictions on groups like the League of Women Voters to register citizens to vote.