Virginia NAACP Sues Govenor of State

The Washington Post reports that the Virginia NAACP, a nonprofit organization, sued the Governor of Virginia and key election officials over the anticipated under-preparedness for the large numbers of voters expected to vote in the state on November 4.  The NAACP was assisted by another nonprofit, The Advancement Project.  The lawsuit was filed in Richmond, Virginia on Monday, October 27.

The story is excerpted below:

The lawsuit claims that the state is violating the U.S. and Virginia constitutions by not allocating enough voting machines, poll workers and polling places — particularly in precincts with high minority populations — which could result in long lines and lost votes.

The Advancement Project, a national voter protection group, filed the lawsuit late Monday in U.S. District Court in Richmond on the NAACP‘s behalf. It asks the state to move voting machines to precincts most likely to have long waiting lines; keep polls open for an extra two hours; and use paper ballots in some cases.

. . .

The group ([NAACP]) has conducted studies on election preparation in states across the country, including Virginia, and has sued in at least one other state, Colorado. [(Click Here for More Information on Colorado)]

In Virginia, the group reviewed public records and other public information that described how many voting machines, voting booths and poll workers would be used in various areas of the state, including Alexandria. The report predicts too few machines and workers will be available per voter in high-minority precincts and that voters in those precincts will have to travel farther to vote.

“Virginians are going to turn out in large numbers, and election officials must act quickly to make sure their failure to prepare doesn’t become a barrier to voting,” said King Salim Khalfani, executive director of the Virginia State Conference NAACP. “If the court does not intervene, thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of the Commonwealth’s voters may be disenfranchised, particularly African American voters.”

The group’s report says problems are predicted to be particularly severe in Richmond, Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

For more information, click here – The Washington Post.

AMT