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We Won't Let Them Steal It Again
Union activists and their allies are working to protect voters' rights across the nation. By James Parks The AFL-CIO and allied organizations have launched an unprecedented national effort to ensure the 2004 elections will not repeat the debacle in 2000 when thousands of seniors, people of color and other traditionally disenfranchised voters were denied the right to vote or had their votes invalidated.
Despite new federal legislation designed to eliminate the most egregious acts of voter intimidation and denial, incidents that took place in the spring and summer primaries have shown such practices have not been curtailed—and in some areas, such as Florida, may be escalating.  In Michigan, Republican state Rep. John Pappageorge told the Detroit Free Press, "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time" winning the November elections. Detroit's population is 83 percent African American, and the city routinely votes overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates.
In Orlando, Fla., state law enforcement officers—all white and visibly armed—arrived at the homes of dozens of African Americans—mostly elderly—who were voting by absentee ballot in the spring mayoral primaries. The armed police questioned the residents about the voting process and in some cases seized the absentee ballots, allegedly as part of an investigation of voter fraud. Some of those questioned were volunteers in get-out-the-vote campaigns. Through the union-community coalition's My Vote, My Right voting rights protection program, union members, people of color and people with disabilities are learning about changes in election law since 2000 and what they can do to participate in the election process in November. "This is my first time to vote in a presidential election, and I am very excited to be able to do that," says Tino Camarena, a member of Painters and Allied Trades Local 159 and Nevada state coordinator for My Vote, My Right. "In Mexico, we had one [party] government for 71 years. Often people were simply forced to vote, and their vote was meaningless. We take for granted that such things couldn't happen here—that we have a right to vote freely. But we have to carefully protect the right to vote. There are ways in which people can be discouraged, efforts to break the will of people so they stay at home and don't vote." Camarena is one of 17 volunteers from 12 unions, state federations and local labor councils who volunteered to work as state voting rights coordinators in 12 battleground states. The snapshots from the field on the next two pages offer a glimpse of how the union movement and its allies are working to ensure every vote counts in November. Unions Mobilize to Make Every Vote Count Union activists across the nation have launched major initiatives to protect voters' rights and to mobilize union members to vote in November. AFSCME has taken the lead in organizing voting rights trainings for lawyers and union activists in Florida and Ohio. The union joined with the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee recently to help expose the attempt by Florida officials to purge the names of thousands of African American voters from the voting rolls this summer by listing them incorrectly as convicted felons. Some 2,004 SEIU Heroes are taking leave from their jobs to work full time on the election, backed by 50,000 SEIU volunteers who will pound the pavement to clock more than 1 million hours of union member-to-member contacts. AFGE and Communications Workers of America are distributing fliers about voting rights at worksites and union halls and are holding worksite teach-ins. AFGE also has purchased advertising time on African American radio stations in nine markets to promote voter protection. The Steelworkers and PACE International Union launched a joint national voter registration drive throughout the industrial states. The two unions distributed more than 800,000 national voter registration packets among local union coordinators as part of a joint call to action through their grassroots Rapid Response Network. More than 25,000 local union coordinators have been trained in preparation for the voter outreach effort. Provisional Ballot Rules
Threaten Full Vote Count In the 2000 presidential election, millions of voters were turned away from the polls because questions about their registration status or location of their polling places could not be resolved quickly. To ensure voters can cast their ballots, the 2002 federal election reform law, the Help America Vote Act, mandated voter access to provisional ballots. Under the act, voters must receive provisional ballots when their names do not appear on the precinct's rolls—which is occurring more frequently because many precinct boundaries changed after the 2000 Census and voters are unaware the location of their polling places has changed. After the election, officials must review the provisional ballots and count those cast by eligible voters. But at least 16 states passed legislation restricting access to these ballots.
In Florida, a state judge dismissed a suit by the Voter Protection Coalition, which includes the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU and several civil rights allies, to overturn a state law requiring destruction of provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct. The Florida suit asked the court to instruct Florida's election officials to count provisional ballots that are cast in the county where the voter resides. The impact of laws restricting provisional ballots was clear in the Illinois primary this past March. In Chicago, some 5,914 people received provisional ballots during the primary. But 5,498 of the ballots—nearly 93 percent—were thrown out on grounds such as having been cast in the wrong precincts. To avoid voting with provisional ballots and risk that they may not be counted, the AFL-CIO encourages voters to make sure they are registered, know their correct polling locations and bring identification when they go to the polls. |
Claudia Cortez
New Mexico State Voting Rights Coordinator Claudia Cortez is spearheading the union movement's My Vote, My Right initiative in New Mexico for a fundamental reason: "We want to make sure they don't steal this one." Cortez, an AFGE member, says every day she remembers the disputed 537 votes in Florida that gave George W. Bush the White House in 2000—and is determined the voter intimidation and lack of ballot counting that happened in Florida is "not going to happen in New Mexico." The race for New Mexico's four electoral votes that went to Al Gore in 2000 by just 366 popular votes will again be a close one this November, says Cortez. Starting in early summer and working with other unions and community groups, Cortez formed three 10-person voting teams in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces in Doña Ana County, in the southwestern part of the state. "The first thing we did was survey the counties and interview the election officials and the Secretary of State to let them know where the most troublesome precincts and counties are. We told them we want to avoid another Florida and the abuses that went on there. We are here to make sure everybody's following the law, being fair and doing what they are supposed to do," she says. Cortez says the next step involved educating voters about their rights and how to fight back if they face problems. "There were many, many problems of intimidation in Doña Ana County. Hispanics and Native Americans have been challenged, turned away and told they needed proof of citizenship, naturalization papers or that their driver's licenses weren't good enough ID. That's not going to happen this time," Cortez says. The My Vote, My Right team members are making sure voters receive a copy of the New Mexico Voters' Bill of Rights. The fliers, available in Spanish and English, outline identification to bring to the polls, what do if challenged and how to cast provisional ballots. Cortez has embarked on the third aspect of the My Vote, My Right initiative: training and stationing poll workers at precincts throughout the state, especially in potential trouble spots. "We are recruiting people who aren't afraid, who will stand up to any threats or intimidation. The votes will count." |
Constituency Groups, Retirees Help Spread the Message Members of the AFL-CIO constituency groups have joined the effort to make every vote count. Five of the My Vote, My Right state coordinators are members of constituency groups, which include the A. Philip Randolph Institute, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Coalition of Labor Union Women, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and Pride At Work. The constituency groups formed the Labor Coalition for Community Action to work jointly on educating union members and the community on policy issues and voter protection. The coalition will hold eight town meetings in the battleground states, many of which include instructions on using new voting machine technology. In Florida and other states, constituency group members have used their unique access and credibility in minority communities to help get the message out to a wide spectrum of voters. Members have addressed community forums, congregations and other groups about ways to prevent voter intimidation and to protect votes. The Alliance for Retired Americans is recruiting its members to serve as poll workers and monitors throughout the country on Election Day. The volunteer retirees also will serve on the voter advocacy teams. |
Lawyers Unite to Ensure Voting Rights The AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee (LCC), a national organization of union attorneys, has recruited a network of lawyer volunteers to monitor implementation of election rules in 32 communities in 12 key battleground states. An LCC election coordinator in each of the 12 states will set up training for voter rights advocacy coalitions to identify and address problems at each stage of the election process, from voter registration procedures to polling place hours. LCC coordinators also worked with the AFL-CIO to develop a universal Voters' Bill of Rights flier and one for the key states. In September, LCC will hold a series of regional meetings in 10 states devoted to the elections and the crucial role of LCC members, along with specific training for voting rights volunteers. |
My Vote, My Right State Coordinators To ensure election laws are implemented fairly, state federations and central labor councils, along with members of constituency groups and community allies, have formed or joined special voter rights advocacy coalitions in 32 communities in 12 key battleground states. Made up of six to 10 leaders from various local groups, the coalitions are receiving training set up by AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee (LCC) members and others on monitoring local officials' enforcement of new election laws. The advocacy coalitions will meet with election officials to correct any problems. They will speak out through the media or contact legislators if election officials do not solve problems quickly. In each of the 12 states, the volunteer state coordinators will synchronize the work of the voter advocacy coalitions. The coordinators recruit members of the advocacy coalitions and develop a voting rights action plan for the state. They oversee the advocacy coalitions as they assess the voting rights needs and propose fixes to the problems they find. The coordinators also help train poll workers and poll monitors and set up Election Day offices where advocacy team members and LCC lawyers will be available to address any problems in voting that arise.
If you live in one of the these states and would like to volunteer as a poll worker, election judge or poll monitor or hand out literature on voting rights, contact the coordinator in your area: Arizona: Barbara Aguirre, AFL-CIO Field Mobilization Department, 602-631-4488, ext. 228, baguirre@aflcio.org
Aurora Duran, Communications Workers of America Local 7026, Tucson coordinator, 520-619-0260, aurorad@mchsi.com Florida: Andrea Staples, AFL-CIO Field Mobilization Department, 916-716-6746, astaples@aflcio.org
Edmund Campbell, Postal Workers Local 172, Miami coordinator, 305-591-0134, edxcamp@bellsouth.net
Flora Peterson, CWA, Jacksonville coordinator, 904-737-8502, flojo358@aol.com
LaFrancis Trotter, AFT Local 1975, Broward County coordinator, 954-486-6250, LaFrance@btuonline.com
Nidia Grajales, Teamsters Local 385, Orlando coordinator, 407-298-7037, ext. 308, lunion@local385.org Michigan: Tina Abbott, secretary-treasurer, Michigan State AFL-CIO, 517-487-5966, tabbott@miaflcio.org Minnesota: Javier Morillo-Alicea, SEIU State Council, 651-203-0401, ext. 4, jmorillo@seiumn.org Missouri: Roy Nixon, Teamsters Local 41, Kansas City coordinator, 816-739-4165, nixonran1955@aol.com
Lew Moye, UAW, St. Louis coordinator, 636-349-4080, Lewcbtu@aol.com Nevada: Tino Camarena, Painters and Allied Trades Local 159, 720-452-2140, ext. 21, cdmcamarena@msn.com, tinocamarena@msn.com New Mexico: Claudia Cortez, AFGE, 505-804-7360, cdc9@georgetown.edu Ohio: Petee Talley, secretary-treasurer, Ohio AFL-CIO, 614-224-8271, ptalley@ohaflcio.org Oregon: Lynn Riddle, Oregon AFL-CIO, 503-230-2574, lriddleusb@yahoo.com Pennsylvania: Janet Ryder, Philadelphia Council of the AFL-CIO, Philadelphia coordinator, 215-665-9800, janetryder@aol.com
Dewitt Walton, Steelworkers, Pittsburgh coordinator, 412-562 2290, dwalton@uswa.org Washington: Lisa Hoyos, AFL-CIO Field Mobilization Department, interim coordinator, 510-282-0440, lhoyos@aflcio.org Wisconsin: Sheila Cochran, Milwaukee County Labor Council, 414-771-7070, aflciosc@execpc.com |
Volunteer to Protect Voting Rights at the Polls Help protect America's voting rights. Volunteer to be a poll worker, election judge or poll monitor on Election Day. Or you can hand out literature on voting rights or perform other tasks related to protecting voting rights. If you live in one of the battleground states, call your voting rights state coordinator. If you live in another state, to volunteer or get more information e-mail votingrights@aflcio.org. |
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