The New York Times
By Bob Herbert
The big story out of Florida over the weekend was the tragic devastation caused
by Hurricane Charley. But there's another story from Florida that deserves our
attention.
State police officers have gone into the homes of elderly black voters in
Orlando and interrogated them as part of an odd "investigation" that
has frightened many voters, intimidated elderly volunteers and thrown a chill
over efforts to get out the black vote in November.
The officers, from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which reports
to Gov. Jeb Bush, say they are investigating allegations of voter fraud that
came up during the Orlando mayoral election in March.
Officials refused to discuss details of the investigation, other than to say
that absentee ballots are involved. They said they had no idea when the
investigation might end, and acknowledged that it may continue right through the
presidential election.
"We did a preliminary inquiry into those allegations and then we
concluded that there was enough evidence to follow through with a full criminal
investigation," said Geo Morales, a spokesman for the Department of Law
Enforcement.
The state police officers, armed and in plain clothes, have questioned dozens
of voters in their homes. Some of those questioned have been volunteers in
get-out-the-vote campaigns.
I asked Mr. Morales in a telephone conversation to tell me what criminal
activity had taken place.
"I can't talk about that," he said.
I asked if all the people interrogated were black.
"Well, mainly it was a black neighborhood we were looking at - yes,'' he
said.
He also said, "Most of them were elderly."
When I asked why, he said, "That's just the people we selected out of a
random sample to interview."
Back in the bad old days, some decades ago, when Southern whites used every
imaginable form of chicanery to prevent blacks from voting, blacks often fought
back by creating voters leagues, which were organizations that helped to
register, educate and encourage black voters. It became a tradition that
continues in many places, including Florida, today.
Not surprisingly, many of the elderly black voters who found themselves face
to face with state police officers in Orlando are members of the Orlando League
of Voters, which has been very successful in mobilizing the city's black vote.
The president of the Orlando League of Voters is Ezzie Thomas, who is 73
years old. With his demonstrated ability to deliver the black vote in Orlando,
Mr. Thomas is a tempting target for supporters of
George W. Bush in a state in which the black vote may well spell the difference
between victory and defeat.
The vile smell of voter suppression is all over this so-called investigation
by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Joseph Egan, an Orlando lawyer who represents Mr. Thomas, said: "The
Voters League has workers who go into the community to do voter registration,
drive people to the polls and help with absentee ballots. They are elderly women
mostly. They get paid like $100 for four or five months' work, just to offset
things like the cost of their gas. They see this political activity as an
important contribution to their community. Some of the people in the community
had never cast a ballot until the league came to their door and encouraged them
to vote."
Now, said Mr. Egan, the fear generated by state police officers going into
people's homes as part of an ongoing criminal investigation related to voting is
threatening to undo much of the good work of the league. He said, "One
woman asked me, 'Am I going to go to jail now because I voted by absentee
ballot?' "
According to Mr. Egan, "People who have voted by absentee ballot for
years are refusing to allow campaign workers to come to their homes. And
volunteers who have participated for years in assisting people, particularly the
elderly or handicapped, are scared and don't want to risk a criminal
investigation."
Florida is a state that's very much in play in the presidential election,
with some polls showing
John Kerry in the lead. A heavy-handed state police investigation that throws a
blanket of fear over thousands of black voters can only help President Bush.
The long and ugly tradition of suppressing the black vote is alive and
thriving in the Sunshine State.
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