As many of you know, for the last week I've been all over the gulf coast with the Blogger Disaster Response Team. As I'm sure you can imagine, this is the type of A-Team that can
break into a prison.
In addition to providing emergency support, documenting Lake George, and seeing the bloated Bush bodies, we've also been doing some political work.
I've been spending a great deal of time with Dr. Ernest Johnson, President of the Louisiana NAACP. While his membership is devasted, he isn't just in a damage control mode, he is also on offense. And he needs your help.
From the
LA Times:
Ernest Johnson, head of the Louisiana NAACP, called Friday for Congress to pass emergency legislation to extend special protections of the Voting Rights Act that expire in 2007. The law is meant to ensure access to the polls for black voters.
Johnson says the hurricane has potentially disenfranchised 1.5 million voters, many of them black.
"A lot of voters have been displaced, and they could be out of their voting jurisdiction, with toxins in the water, for a year or more," Johnson said. The expiring provision of the law requires jurisdictions in 15 states to clear changes in election laws with the Justice Department to ensure the changes do not disadvantage minority groups.
"We were going to fight for the extension anyway. Now, we want to move up the debate, to talk about this in 2005 instead of 2007, so we do not have to worry," Johnson said. The provision, he said, would protect voters as precincts are moved and absentee ballots are mailed.
We need your help to make this happen. We need your help pushing this into the mainstream media. I am coordinating press for Dr. Johnson, he is available so please contact any reporter you have a relationship with and pitch this story. Have them email me at bob.brigham @ gmail.com to interview Dr. Johnson.
I am hoping you will use the comments with other ideas on what we can do to prevent 1.5 million voters from being disenfranchised.