[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 146 (Tuesday, November 14, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             ELECTION 2000

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CYNTHIA A. McKINNEY

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 14, 2000

  Ms. McKINNEY. Mr. Speaker, I am extremely disappointed with events in 
Florida, but it is important that I bring to your urgent attention, 
voting difficulties experienced in my District.
  In 1996, there was heavy voter turnout in the Fourth Congressional 
District. The heavy turnout was responsible for sending me back to 
Congress after an unfriendly redistricting fight. However, at that 
time, voters were forced to wait for hours in order to cast their vote. 
Too many of them had to stand outside in the weather because the 
polling places were cramped and too small to accommodate the large 
number of voters who showed up to vote. People were standing outside 
and in some cases the lines extended down the street. We all were very 
proud to have excited the electorate to vote. However, that experience 
should have alerted the planners of our elections of the need for 
adequate facilities for voting; apparently it did not.
  Regrettably, the electoral process in the Fourth Congressional 
District was once again marred by exactly the same logistical 
difficulties as were experienced in 1996, only this year they were even 
worse. From election day continuing through today, my office has 
received phone calls from constituents saying that they experienced 
excessively long delays in voting, some having to wait as long as five 
hours, and even worse, many said that they left the polling station 
without having voted at all. In stark contrast, I am told that the 
polling stations in the northern precincts of the district, which are 
majority white, moved quickly (in some cases in as little as 15 
minutes) and voters did not experience any where near the difficulties 
experienced by black voters in the southern part of the District. I am 
concerned that we might be seeing a new pattern and practice that has 
black voter suppression as its intent.
  Complaints in my district are rampant, and I've heard similar 
complaints from other parts of my State. I don't want to place blame on 
any of the innocent election workers whose task it was to service large 
numbers of voters under severe circumstances. In large measure, they 
did an admiral job under the circumstances. But the right to vote in 
this country is sacrosanct and that right should be protected. I am 
calling on the Department of Justice to investigate what happened in my 
district because sophisticated black voter suppression is still black 
voter suppression and that's against the law.

                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                 Washington, DC, November 9, 2000.
     Hon. William Clinton,
     President, Washington, DC.
       Dear President Clinton: I am extremely disappointed to have 
     to write this letter to you today. But in light of events in 
     Florida, I think it is important that I bring to your urgent 
     attention, voting difficulties experienced in Georgia's 
     Fourth Congressional District.
       In 1996, there was heavy voter turnout in the Fourth 
     Congressional District. I am pleased about that. The heavy 
     turnout was responsible for sending me back to Congress, Max 
     Cleland to the Senate, and you to the White House. However, 
     at that time, voters were forced to wait for hours in order 
     to cast their vote. Too many of them had to stand outside in 
     the weather because the polling place was cramped and too 
     small to accommodate the large number of voters who showed up 
     to cast their vote. People were standing outside and in some 
     cases the lines extended down the street. We all were very 
     proud to have excited the electorate to vote. However, that 
     experience should have alerted the planners of our elections 
     here of the need for adequate facilities for voting; 
     apparently it did not.
       We worked very hard this year to encourage all the voters 
     in the district to participate in the November 7th election 
     and as a consequence, there was once again a strong turnout. 
     Regrettably, the electoral process in the Fourth 
     Congressional District was once again marred by exactly the 
     same logistical difficulties as were experienced in 1996, 
     only this year they were worse. From election day continuing 
     to today, my office and the DeKalb County NAACP have received 
     countless phone calls from constituents complained saying 
     that they experienced excessively long delays in voting, some 
     having to wait as long as four to five hours, and even worse, 
     many said that they had left the polling station without 
     having voted at all. These constituents complained that the 
     polling stations were completely underprepared for the 
     turnout. There were simply too few voting booths, voter 
     lists, and elections personnel at the black precincts in the 
     Fourth Congressional District. In stark contrast, I am told 
     that the polling stations in the northern precincts of the 
     district, which are majority white, moved quickly ( in some 
     cases in as little as 15 minutes) and voters did not 
     experience any where near the difficulties experienced by 
     black voters in the southern part of the District.
       By way of example, constituents complained that at Stone 
     View precinct, there were at least 1200 people standing in 
     line waiting to vote, but election officials confided that 
     they could process only approximately 100 voters an hour and 
     that at that rate voters would be voting until 8:00 a.m. the 
     following morning. Hundreds of people eventually left the 
     precinct without voting after having waited four to five 
     hours to vote. Additionally, we received complaints that 
     constituents waited as long as four to five hours in line 
     only to be told when they finally arrived at the desk that 
     they were at the wrong precinct and because of the lateness 
     of the hour, they were not going to be able to vote at all.
       Tragically, many of the people waiting in line to vote were 
     forced to stand for hours in the rain with infants and young 
     children. One constituent complained that after he had waited 
     for hours to get his ballot form at the front desk, he was 
     not allowed reentry into the building when he left the voting 
     line to check on his small children who were outside. Also, 
     several motor vehicle accidents occurred at polling stations, 
     in large measure I am sure, because of the voting delays 
     leading to traffic congestion at the polls.
       In light of the above, I am extremely concerned that a new 
     form of black voter suppression might have been experienced 
     by voters in the Fourth Congressional District, constituting 
     a potential violation of the Voting Rights Act.
       Mr. President, I do not want to place blame on any of the 
     innocent election workers whose task it was to service large 
     numbers of voters under severe circumstances. In large 
     measure, they did an admirable job under the circumstances. 
     But the right to vote in this country is sacrosanct and that 
     right should be protected.
       I respectfully request your immediate investigation into 
     this matter.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Cynthia McKinney,
                                               Member of Congress.





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