Katrina Voters Screwed--The Origins (from 3/1/06)--Scoop Exclusive

[autorank]

(This is re-post based on the NAACP request to cancel elections in NOLA and Anita Garcia's excellent post. Get the link around. http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0603/S00016.htm# It explains
THE ARTICLE SHOWS HOW IT HAPPENED. Pretty sneaky, those LA politicians. Shocking;))

Permission by the author for extended quotation.

The Disenfranchisement Of Katrina's Survivors

Wednesday, 1 March 2006, 3:02 pm
Article: Michael Collins
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0603/S00016.htm#
Adding Insult to Injury for Katrina Survivors
- Barriers to Voting Due to Inadequate State & Local Efforts
- Two Law Suits Fail to Remedy the Situation.

Special for "Scoop" Independent Media
Michael Collins


Does this Katrina evacuee have the right to vote in the
upcoming New Orleans municipal elections? Without a doubt
but her prospects have been limited by an unresponsive state
legislature and Federal authorities.

Wash. DC. - Two court decisions this weekend create barriers to voting for hurricane Katrina survivors spread around the United States. The U.S. District Court of Louisiana (Eastern) denied a lawsuit that sought to delay elections and allow special measures to enable voting by several hundred thousand displaced New Orleans evacuees. Advancement Project, a civil rights organization, filed the suit with ACORN (a national community rights organization) and individual voters.

The suit asked for immediate relief for displaced voters through satellite polling places in major evacuee locales, publicity efforts in these areas to let people know their right to vote, and an expanded form of identification to include Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Red Cross documentation with a New Orleans address. The suit also asked the court to declare that the Louisiana legislature's Act 40 and the Secretary of State's emergency voting plan "impose a severe burden on displaced voters' fundamental right to vote."

<snip>

A new chapter in the ongoing American Revolution: the struggle for voting rights for Katrina survivors.

Louisiana has a long and colorful history. Andrew Jackson led the people of New Orleans against British invaders in 1815. The British had just burned Washington, D.C. and were looking for more opportunities to pillage and humiliate their former subjects. Jackson's army was clearly not a conventional force.

“Never has a more polyglot army fought under the Stars and Stripes than did Jackson's force at the Battle of New Orleans. In addition to his regular U.S. Army units, Jackson counted on dandy New Orleans militia, a sizable contingent of black former Haitian slaves fighting as free men of color, Kentucky and Tennessee frontiersmen armed with deadly long rifles and a colorful band of outlaws led by Jean Lafitte, whose men Jackson had once disdained as "hellish banditti." This hodgepodge of 4,000 soldiers, crammed behind narrow fortifications, faced more than twice their number.” (The Battle of New Orleans)

Yet the citizens of New Orleans and Jackson prevailed. The victory saved New Orleans, secured the Louisiana Purchase, and gave Americans the satisfaction of decisively defeating the British after their rampage in the nation's capitol.

Today, New Orleans faces a new assault on its long tradition as a unique and special element of American culture and politics. Voters dispersed throughout the United States as a result of Katrina represent a consummate irony and injustice. The planning for a Katrina-like hurricane was woefully inadequate. The poor were left to fend for themselves with churches and civic groups used as a means to distribute "CD's" containing survival instructions and tips. Evacuation of the cities poor was not deemed practical.


Had winds exceeded 140mph, the roof of the Superdome
may have lifted off. Refuge of last resort,the dome
would have collapsed.

The Superdome and Convention Center were to be used as shelters of last resort. Once the hurricane hit, the collapse of the levees was inevitable, due to bad design or building procedures, largely the responsibility of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. The collapse of the levees resulted in mass chaos. No Federal assistance was forthcoming for days thanks to poor planning execution by FEMA.

While citizens starved, became ill, and died, national outrage was tempered with a false picture of looting by New Orleans black community (while similar behavior by whites was called finding food." When citizens tried to leave the horror chamber that had become the cities Convention Center, they went to the Gretna Bridge, a short walk from the center. They were met by armed men from the other side of the Mississippi river who told them they could not enter, even though Gretna had power and supplies. There were no Federal Marshalls there to protect their rights to "life and liberty."

The city was so devastated that a majority of its citizens had to leave their homes, friends, and all of their belongings behind as they were dispersed across the country. Instead of jobs to help rebuild their homes, survivors are forced to adapt to strange locales while friends of the administration like Halliburton win huge contracts in the biggest domestic Federal giveaway ever. FEMA, the author of poor planning and disaster relief, is now the provider for Katrina survivors, an irony that escapes no one.

Evacuees away from home, out of touch, and eager to get back, find Louisiana officials offering them the very least assistance in casting their vote and influencing their future. Rather than a proactive effort to reach all citizens eligible to vote, the states Act 40 makes clear that the Secretary of State has little authority to work beyond the borders of the state or even Orleans parish. FEMA, responsible for much of their distress and pain, offers little in the way of assistance. The voters are alone, away from their homes. Their only support comes from each other and the community organizations who seek relief in courts and through governmental agencies.

The betrayal of New Orleans has been manifested for years through poor planning, poor execution, sloppy workmanship, and negligent oversight of basic safety requirements.

The Federal government provided Louisiana $24 million to fund voting machine purchases in 2004. In that same year, it withdrew $24 million from levee maintenance support in the Federal budget. The de facto and de jure disenfranchisement of New Orleans evacuees is shaping up to be one of the most disgraceful chapters in the history of American governance. The ballot box, the purported solution, is hidden, swathed in absurdist regulations and out of reach for those most in need of access. The denial of voting rights to Katrina evacuees is a denial of their right to self determination. It is a national disgrace.
Who benefits?

Who benefits?



New Orleans is the only city in the world where
you can hire a jazz marching band for your funeral.
Hopefully, there will be no funeral for the voting
rights of Katrina survivors.


--------------------

[EFerrari]

1. But this isn't about race.

GRETNA BRIDGE

If we allow NOLA voters, colorful or not, to be disenfranchised in this way, it will be a stain we can never remove from our national history.

[lsulib]

2. I am getting tired of inflammatory rethoric on all sides

Hey, this isnt going to be popular but here I go. A week ago I was back visting NOLA. A few of my political friends gathered again for the first time since Katrina at one of our favorite watering holes. Its an interesting group. We are all active in politcs and all are quite fond of each other. What makes this group different is it was formed after we got kicked out of too many bars for talking politics and it getting to heated. In this group are Democrats, Republicans, libertarians, and green folks. We love to scream at each other. However, we all agreed on one thing. Both parties and all sort of special interest groups are using NOLA and Louisiana for their own agendas. We all felt like pawns.
The effort to find "blame" is now more important than rebuilding the city.

Now the reason why this article upsets me is this. First, it really doesnt tell us much about "Disenfranchisement". After an entertaining history lesson on the war of 1812 it recycles the same ole crap for most of the story. It "pushes" the button of blame. Well time to move on. I wish any person from the NAACP or anyone on here can tell me how delaying these elections is a good thing. There are people in NOLA from all races and political viewpoints that are tired of dealing with the current "local"situation down there. I am willing to be that the majority of folks want these elections to occur sooner rather than later. Delaying these elections are going to hurt everyone in NOLA and esp the the NOLA expats. There are decisions being made right now that are going to effect the livelihood of a lot of poor people. How does it benefit lets say a "ninth ward" or NOLA east person to have these elections delayed when their property is being taken away for all practical purposes under all these new plans. This isn't a Democratic or Republican issue. Its not a White YAT versus a African American YAt issue either.. Its an issue of holding a local govt accountable and demanding results.

A real disenfranchisement will occur IMHO if these elections are not held soon. I dont count the political lives of certain NOLA politicos of being in danger as disenfranchisement. Ther are organizations in areas like Dallas and Houston as well as in the major LA cities that will be helping out. In fact I am prob going to get involved if helping people absentte vote in those areas.

Again, it might be a unpopular view but I am willing to bet if a poll was taken most of the people that this article is talking about want to vote now not later.

Well thats my view from Louisiana. Let the flaming begin.

[pitohui]

3. there is definitely much to what you say

i don't know how finally having a vote on april 22 is more of a disenfranchisement than not having any vote at all in the foreseeeable

how long exactly do people want it delayed?

many of these folks will be living in houston, atlanta, etc. for many years to come

are the people of orleans parish to go w.out an election for years? because new orleans east is not going to be habitable for a long, long time to come

[lsulib]

4. Thanks

I just getting so frustrated at this. Imean at some point people move on. They become residents of other places and start being a part of that community. I really dont want to lose any more folks than we have too. I mean at some point the city has got to deal with folks that want to know why it takes months to get city inspector to their homes for instance so they can start repairing their homes. Business will not start moving back in NOLA nor investment until the political situation is clarifyed. I just dont hear alot of outrage among nola expats on the date of this election. In fact many are mostly glad they can have some say in whats going on for the first time since September.

[EFerrari]

6. I think the idea is to build enough pressure to force satelllite

polls in places where Katrina survivors were placed. How hard can that be? I guess there's no profit in setting up polling places for displaced Katrina survivors as there was setting up polling places for Iraqi refugees . . . .

"are the people of orleans parish to go w.out an election for years?"

Obviously, not. That's just plain silly.

And, fyi, I still haven't been able to locate a NOLA friend. She is among the disappeared, I can't bring myself to put it any other way.

It's so easy to run over vulnerable people.

/typo

[EFerrari]

5. I bet they'd want to vote now too.

Unfortunately, I can't go to Houston to get their opinion.

I certainly understand that you all need zero more stress or friction.

[autorank]

7. Read the article. It's inflamatory because people are not able to registe

There complete background on the entire process of disengfranchisement:

--discussion of two key court decisions,

--discussion of "Act 40" which bars any special efforts,

--discussion of lack of FEMA efforts to do anything extra e.g., provide lists to let candidates comunicate with distant voters.

--discussion of the Secretary of States efforts to help people register.

When you see "<snip>" that means a large part of the article is deleted and you should go to the main link, listed in the body of the Original Post.

I BLAME the LA state legislature, the courts, the politicians who sat this out, and FEMA for not facilitating registration.

There will be a follow up to this on how many people actually regiswtered.

If you're sanguine, fine, but that does not change the fact that nothing special has been done to facilitate registraiton and voting and much has been done, e.g. "Act 40" to make sure nothing special is done.

This is clearly a special circumstance, one that requires some creativity and extra effort.

After all, it's there vote.