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 Lawyers'
Committee Helps Protect the Vote in Louisiana
On April 22 and again on May 20, 2006, the voters
of New Orleans went to the polls to choose their
city's new political leadership. In the process,
New Orleanians from across the country made history
by their unique commitment to our democratic traditions.
These elections were the first since Hurricane Katrina
devastated the Gulf Coast area and the city of New
Orleans. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
Under Law worked extensively on voter protection
efforts, to help ensure that every eligible citizen,
those who were displaced and those who returned
home, had the opportunity to cast their vote and
make their voice heard in the most important election
in New Orleans' history.
Through our work in Louisiana, the Election Protection
coalition, led by the Lawyers' Committee, People
For the American Way Foundation and the NAACP, created
the first success story of Election Protection 2006.
Working as part of the Louisiana Voting Rights Network,
a large and dynamic coalition of national and local
civil rights and community organizations, the Lawyers'
Committee assisted displaced voters throughout the
country and those who voted in person in Orleans
Parish.
Despite the destruction, Orleans Parish residents
were
determined
to vote and help rebuild their city.
Pre-Election Day Efforts
Like programs in the past, our Louisiana Election
Protection program integrated the creation of materials
for volunteers and voters, use of the 1-866-OUR-VOTE
hotline, a field program to distribute materials,
and a legal field mobilization program to assist
voters and solve problems on and prior to Election
Day.
As part of our preparation to run the hotline and
assist voters through Election Day, the Lawyers'
Committee worked with our pro bono partners on legal
research to help craft documents, including updated
Bills of Rights for both displaced voters and voters
in Orleans Parish, legal guidelines for organizations
assisting voters, and extensive research on absentee
ballot challenges. The law firm of DLA Piper took
the lead in producing key legal materials over the
course of the election cycle. We also worked closely
with the Louisiana Secretary of State's office for
months preceding the election to obtain accurate
information for voters, offer suggestions and advice,
and assist in their efforts to reach out to displaced
voters.
To help educate and inform voters about the upcoming
elections, we also activated our 1-866-OUR-VOTE
voter assistance hotline. Staffed by volunteer lawyers
and law students and run out of the Lawyers' Committee's
Washington, DC offices, the hotline ran from Monday,
March 13 through Election Day on May 20, assisting
hundreds of displaced voters around the country.
Questions from voters mainly centered on the absentee
ballot process and, on Election Day, questions about
where to go to vote. In total, 65 volunteers from
23 law firms and law schools filled 138 hotline
shifts. The hotline also served as a key mechanism
to record voting incidents for further analysis.
The Lawyers' Committee and the Louisiana Voting
Rights Network (LVRN) did extensive outreach to
local community partners to help educate voters
about their rights and new Election Day procedures.
LVRN organizations, including the NAACP, People
For the American Way Foundation, the Louisiana ACLU,
NAACP LDF, the National Urban League, and Unity
'06, coordinated legal and field efforts to maximize
our outreach and effectiveness. Nearly 20 trainings
were held throughout April and May to help recruit
Election Day Poll Monitors - lawyers, law students,
community members, and out-of-town volunteers who
wanted to assist with the city's historic election.
The Lawyers' Committee also worked closely with
Rep. Cheryl Gray of the Louisiana Black Legislative
Caucus and the National Bar Association affiliate,
the Martinet Society, on outreach and recruitment
efforts. The National Bar Association was also instrumental
in recruiting attorneys to assist voters at the
NAACP's Displaced Voter Assistance Centers in 16
cities throughout the country. Additionally, the
NBA recruited attorneys to be on call during the
early voting period in parishes across Louisiana.
The Elections: April 22 and May 20
On April 22, the Louisiana Voting Rights Network
mobilized over 150 volunteers who were deployed
to monitor over 30 polling places, covering over
300 precincts. Poll Monitors were allowed inside
polling places to observe the voting process, point
out problems to commissioners, discuss incidents
with voters after the voting process was completed,
and record and report any problems that voters had
inside or outside the polling place. LVRN concentrated
on placing volunteers at mega polling sites and
precincts with high numbers of African-American
voters. For the general election on May 20, LVRN
mobilized over 50 volunteers, who were able to monitor
similar numbers of sites and precincts through a
mobile field attorney and roving volunteer program.
Kim Boyle, a LCCRUL Board member and a partner at
Phelps Dunbar in New Orleans, hosted the Legal Command
Center (LCC) for both Election Days. The LCC served
as a headquarters for responding to Election Day
problems. The LCC communicated regularly with Poll
Monitors and other field volunteers, hotline volunteers
in Washington, DC, state and local election officials,
and local law enforcement. Attorneys in the LCC
tracked incidents at polling places, recorded problems
for further follow-up and analysis, assisted dozens
of voters with complicated voting problems, and
helped coordinate the deployment of Poll Monitors
to key polling places throughout the day.
Analysis
While we commend the Secretary of State and other
state and local election officials for elections
that were largely administered well, there were,
unfortunately, a variety of incidents on Election
Day for the primary election. But the real heroes,
of course, were the voters of Orleans Parish who,
despite unprecedented obstacles, honored our democracy
by exercising their political voice through the
ballot box. Problems at the polls included inaccurate
polling place information, lack of signage at polling
places, voters missing from registration rolls,
and police presence at polling sites. Our legal
volunteers and poll monitors were able to resolve
many of these problems but many of these issues
could have been prevented. Based on these incidents
and other data gathered from the hotline and at
Election Day polling places, we made recommendations
for improvements to the elections process to help
provide for a more inclusive process for the general
election.
There were some improvements on May 20, but many
problems persisted. Most notably, there was continued
confusion over proper polling place locations, voters
missing from registration rolls (in some cases,
voters were not on the rolls even though they had
voted in the primary), and an increased police presence
at polling sites, especially mega polling sites.
Several police cars parked outside of the Voting
Machine
Warehouse polling place, which housed 53 precincts,
during
the general election in Orleans Parish, Louisiana
on May 20, 2006.
After the hurricanes, in the months leading up to
the election, our major concern was preventing disenfranchisement
of displaced minority voters. Regrettably, our analysis
of the election concludes that disenfranchisement
of displaced voters residing outside of Louisiana
was the # 1 problem for both elections. The absentee
voting process was daunting and confusing for voters
and, as we see now, largely unsuccessful in providing
a true opportunity for displaced voters to cast
a ballot. Of an estimated 90,000-120,000 displaced
voters, only 21,000 cast absentee ballots, voted
early in New Orleans, or voted early at satellite
sites in Louisiana in the primary; 24,000 voters
voted early or absentee for the general election.
While this represents a significant increase over
the number of absentee ballot requests for any previous
Orleans Parish election, it is still a staggeringly
small number of displaced voters. Of the voters
who did request absentee ballots for the primary,
65% were Black and 32% were White.
In the future, we will need to push to change some
of these procedures to make the absentee ballot
process less problematic. Certainly, out of state
satellite voting locations in cities with a large
number of displaced voters would have helped to
alleviate this problem; but even providing satellite
sites within Louisiana on Election Day would have
helped to ease the burden of long-distance travel
for thousands of voters. It is clear that better
outreach was needed to help inform displaced voters
about the voting process and FEMA should have provided
funds to the State of Louisiana for this purpose.
Additional steps must be taken to ensure that every
voter can participate in the November elections.
Overall, the racial disparity in voting from 2002
to 2006 meant that 25,000-30,000 fewer African-American
voters participated while voter participation among
White voters was largely unchanged. In the primary,
the average voter turnout for predominantly White
precincts was 44%, while turnout was only 24% for
the predominately Black precincts. Turnout for the
general election increased overall by 2%, to 38%
(an increase of 5,000 votes) but the increase in
turnout was split fairly evenly between predominantly
White and predominantly Black precincts. Fifty-five
percent of general election voters were Black and
44% were White. Contrary to the statements of some
demographers that the racial composition of the
city is unchanged post-Katrina, these facts suggest
that this is not the case and that the voters who
remain displaced are predominantly African-American.
Despite these and other problems, the disenfranchisement
of displaced voters would have been much more severe
without the efforts of the Lawyers' Committee, the
Election Protection Coalition, the Louisiana Voting
Rights Network, and hundreds of local volunteers.
Our efforts will continue as we work to ensure every
Louisiana resident has the opportunity to cast a
ballot this November.
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 The
Election Protection Program was created in
the wake of the pervasive voting irregularities
experienced disproportionately in minority
communities during the 2000 Presidential Election
cycle. This nonpartisan coalition of civil
rights and civic organizations is committed
to protecting the right of all citizens to
cast a ballot on Election Day.
To accomplish this goal, the coalition has
developed strategies that identify and respond
to problems before Election Day through grassroots
efforts, education and outreach to voters
and election officials – and, where necessary,
litigation. Our Election Day hotline (1-866-OUR
VOTE) offers immediate, legal assistance to
voters during the early voting period and
on Election Day. The Election Protection Program
combines extensive, state specific legal research
and resources with a coordinated grassroots
field campaign.
Since 2000, the Lawyers' Committee and our
coalition partners have conducted EP programs
in targeted states with a history of voting
irregularities and disenfranchisement. For
these states, the coalition created legal
materials including a Voters’ Bill of
Rights, providing voters and advocates with
necessary information about state election
laws.
For the November 2004 election, the Lawyers'
Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, People
for the American Way Foundation, and the National
Coalition on Black Civic Participation led
the most ambitious voter-protection program
in the nation, recruiting over 25,000 volunteers
(including 8,000 legal volunteers) to monitor
polling places, educate voters, provide legal
support to poll monitors, answer our voter
protection hotline, and facilitate a dialogue
with local and state election officials. The
Election Day hotline received over 200,000
calls, including 100,000 on Election Day alone,
from voters in all 50 states, the District
of Columbia, Puerto Rico as well as overseas
voters from as far away as Japan.
Election Protection conducted a limited program
in 2005, concentrating on the Virginia and
New Jersey state elections, New York City
mayoral election, and ballot initiatives in
Ohio and California.
Ambitious plans are underway for the 2006
elections. But the EP program will only work
with your help. Please
click here to volunteer.
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The
Voting Rights Project is currently seeking financial
support. Your contribution helps us protect the
most fundamental right of all Americans – the
right to cast a meaningful vote. For more information,
please contact the Development Office of the Lawyers’
Committee at: 202-662-8303.
The Lawyers’ Committee relies on contributions
from individuals, lawyers, law firms, corporations,
and foundations, as well as the legal services of
volunteers. Your contributions are tax-deductible.
and can range from as little as $10.00 to $500,
$1,000, $10,000 or much more.
Click
here to donate now. | Legal
Notice
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