NAACP Act Is Apparent Check on Chavis Ally
The NAACP has told young members they are not eligible to vote in upcoming branch elections, apparently to block a takeover attempt of one chapter by a supporter of fired Executive Director Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.
The NAACP board of directors changed election rules to require members age 17 to 20 to join as adults in order to vote in branch elections. Before the change, youth members could vote as long as they were in good standing.
The change was announced two days after Chavis ally Earl King signed up thousands of 18- to 21-year-olds with $3 youth memberships through a registration drive. King is running for president of the South Side Chicago NAACP.
T.H. Poole, chairman of the NAACP board committee on branches, denied there was an attempt to shut out young members of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People. He said the change was needed so that youth members won’t vote both in branch elections and elections in youth councils.
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