Blocking the Votes of Florida’s Blacks

Re “GOP Accused of Planning to Obstruct Blacks at Florida Polls,” Oct. 28: The GOP’s plan to challenge voters in black communities smacks of Jim Crow tactics. What’s next? Literacy tests? Poll taxes? Property ownership rules? White-only primaries? Voting only by those whose grandfathers voted? This “caging list” of African American voters is just another shameless tactic in a long history of strategies used to deny people of color their civil rights. The henchmen and women may not wear white cloaks or resort to outright violence, but their actions are despicable nevertheless. Reasonable, honorable, moderate Republicans are sullied by association and should denounce and put a stop to these activities.

Lourdes Rivera

Los Angeles

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The Republican strategy is now clear. It is not enough to turn out the conservative base for President Bush. Now we can expect that partisan election monitors, under the pretext of ensuring one vote per citizen, will deploy the tactic of confront and delay. In other words, challenge enough “suspicious” voters in heavily Democratic precincts of swing states, thereby creating long lines that discourage others from voting. It’s a ruthless, Machiavellian tactic torn straight from Karl Rove’s playbook. While Democrats work to get new voters to the polls, GOP operatives are actually trying to prevent people from voting. It’s the kind of fascism that would make any tin-pot dictator proud.

Robin Weitz

Los Angeles