Uphold the Voting Rights Act of 1965
- by: Shanna DeMarte and Frank Gerry
- recipient: Attorney General Eric Holder
The right to vote one's conscious without political intimidation is a foundation of our democracy. It's a right which must be vigorously upheld. On Election Day 2008, this right was violated when a group of armed Black Panthers garbed in paramilitary attire threatened voters at a polling station in Philadelphia. One of these Panthers was a member of Philadelphia's 14th Ward Democratic Committee and a credentialed poll watcher for the Democratic Party. The evidence, including multiple witnesses and video, is clear that these men made threatening gestures, including the use of racial epithets, towards voters headed for the polls. A white voter was told: "Cracker, you about to be ruled by a black man." A black Republican poll watcher was called a "race traitor". Bartle Bull, a former civil rights lawyer and publisher of the left-wing Village Voice, called it "the most blatant form of voter intimidation I've ever seen". But our right to vote without intimidation was truly imperiled only later, when President Obama's Justice Department made the stunning decision not to prosecute these men, and have since stonewalled inquiries regarding this decision.
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted on August 7 to send a letter to the Justice Department demanding answers. It stated: "We believe the Department's defense of its actions thus far undermines respect for rule of law...". It noted "the peculiar logic" of one Justice argument, that defendants' failure to show up in court was a reason for dismissing the case: "Such an argument sends a perverse message to wrongdoers - that attempts at voter suppression will be tolerated so long as the persons who engage in them are careful not to appear in court to answer the government's complaint." It is outrageous for the Obama administration to be so dismissive of this case!
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits any "attempt to intimidate, threaten or coerce" a voter's right to vote. A full investigation must be conducted into the events of Election Day 2008, and the offenders prosecuted according to law, to ensure that the legacy of equal voting rights in America is protected.
For more information, see the articles at the following links below:
The Washington Times article: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jul/30/no-3-at-justice-okd-panther-reversal/
The Wall Street Journal article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203550604574361071968458430.html#mod=article-outset-box
Dear Attorney General Holder,
We the undersigned hereby join with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to demand a full investigation into the failure to prosecute the Black Panthers who intimidated voters on Election Day 2008. We believe that the right to vote without intimidation is a core tenet of democracy, and a hard-won American right which must never be compromised. Their actions, recorded on video tape and testified to by a multiplicity of witnesses, represent a threat to our democratic system and cannot be allowed to stand with impunity. Please uphold the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with respect to said violations.
Thank you, sir, for taking the time to read this letter.
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