Hi Kali, Thanks for the messages... Are you still at Arizona? & HOw is it going there, if you are.. I know it was rough at first... (And our Pres. Likins left to be Pres. there). Best, Ted Kali Tal wrote: > >Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2000 08:53:57 -0500 > >Reply-To: nathan.newman@yale.edu > >Sender: owner-triumph-of-content-l@usc.edu > >From: "Nathan Newman" <nathan.newman@yale.edu> > >To: <Undisclosed-Recipient:@mr1.its.yale.edu;> > >Subject: Florida Voting Rights & Wrongs- Campaign for a Legal Election > >X-Priority: 3 > >X-Rcpt-To: kali@kalital.com > > > >Any organization interested in signing onto the Campaign for a Legal > >Election's statement, please email spin@pantheon.yale.edu > > > >===================================================== > > Yale Law Students CAMPAIGN FOR A LEGAL ELECTION > > Yale Law School 127 Wall Street New Haven, CT 06511 > > (203) 432-4888 spin@pantheon.yale.edu > >===================================================== > > > >How dare either candidate claim an election victory (or concede) before the > >facts of what happened in Florida are determined? Don't let the politicians > >or the pundits deprive Florida residents of their voting rights and the rest > >of the country of our democratic process. > > > >Please do your part NOW to change the tone of the debate. > > > >Don't let the press spin this story to force a hasty solution. Any country > >can have a quick result. America is special because we believe in the rule > >of law and the protection of constitutional rights. Let's set an example > >for the world by proceeding in a patient and dignified way. Any party or > >politician that seeks to claim this election prematurely will have violated > >our trust and threatened the legitimacy of our government both domestically > >and internationally. It is our responsibility to hold them accountable > >because we will pay the price. > > > >Therefore, please do the following: > > > >1) WRITE TO YOUR HOMETOWN PAPER (please see a sample op-ed piece below; feel > >free to use/edit any part of it for letters to the editor, etc.) > > > >2) CALL IN TO TALK SHOWS where you live and in Florida. You can find out > >which staions there are by checking out www.broadcast.com . > > > >3) SEND THIS AND OTHER E-MAILS TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY. LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT > >YOU WILL NOT ACCEPT A RUSH TO JUDGMENT BECAUSE THERE IS TOO MUCH AT STAKE. > > > > > >FOLLOWING IS A STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES THAT WE ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO > >DISTRIBUTE TO FRIENDS AND/OR SUBSTANTIALLY EDIT AND SUBMIT TO THEIR LOCAL > >(HOMETOWN) PAPERS. DON'T DELAY: TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! > > > >========================== > >Voting Rights and Wrongs in Florida > >========================== > > > >Since Tuesday, many politicians and others have suggested that it is > >inappropriate for the results of the election in Florida to be subjected > >to a legal challenge. This attitude amounts to a fundamental assault on > >the Voting Rights Act and the right to vote guaranteed by state and > >federal constitutions. > > > >The right to vote is the underpinning of our society. As the Supreme > >Court has stated, "other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the > >right to vote is undermined." Equally important is the ability to enforce > >this right to vote. During the civil rights movement, people struggled > >and died not only for the right to vote itself, but also for the right to > >pursue legal action if the vote was denied. What James Baker decries as > >"unending legal wrangling" is the enforcement mechanism of our > >Constitution. > > > >It is premature for either campaign to declare victory or concede > >defeat. It is neither up to Governor Bush nor Vice President Gore to > >concede defeat or assume victory until the choice of the people is > >clear. As the Florida Supreme Court has stated, "the real parties in > >interest" in a legal challenge to the results of an election "are the > >voters," not the candidates or their political parties. > > > >There is too much at stake to let this election pass without scrutinizing > >the many reports of problems in Florida: > >* Thousands of voters in Palm Beach County may have been effectively > >denied their right to vote due to an illegal and unnecessarily confusing > >ballot design. > >* Polls closed while people were still in line in Tampa. > >* Voters were denied ballots on grounds that their precinct had changed. > >* Some election officials refused to allow translators in voting booths > >for Haitian-Americans in Miami. > >* Hispanic voters in Osceola County alleged they were required to produce > >two kinds of identification when only one was required. > >* At least two absentee ballots have already been invalidated due to > >fraudulent submission, in what may be a statewide campaign of absentee > >voter fraud. > > > >Many have said that such "irregularities" exist in every > >election. Although that is unfortunately true, a systemic failure in our > >election process is not license to ignore the law, especially when the > >very outcome of the election may be at stake. In fact, it is only when > >elections are subjected to such intense scrutiny that problems such as > >poorly designed ballots or racial intimidation surface. > > > >Courts have the responsibility to ensure that elections are conducted > >legally, and to order a new election if necessary. If the Palm Beach > >ballots violate Florida law, this is not a legal technicality; laws > >provide for a common format for ballots to ensure that the process is > >uniform and clear statewide, and that the election reflects the intentions > >of the populace. In fact, under Florida law, a new election is only > >required if a court finds that violations of elections laws created doubt > >as to whether the outcome of the election truly reflects the will of the > >people. > > > > Many people have spoken about the rule of law. What the rule of > > law requires, however, is not a blind respect for the ballot count in an > > election marred by denials of the right to vote, but a healthy > > appreciation of the need for legal redress of any violations. Seeking > > legal redress is not being a "poor sport." Rather, it is protecting > > one's constitutional rights. > > > >Other countries look to the United States as a bastion of legality, > >stability, and above all democracy. Some have suggested that the > >continued uncertainty over the outcome of the election is embarrassing, > >but far more embarrassing would be a rush to an incorrect result. Any > >country can have quick results. It is a testament to the strength of our > >democracy and our legal system that the most powerful people in our > >country must wait for the courts to completely address the concerns of > >even the most vulnerable American citizens. > > > >As law students, we are especially concerned about the assault on the right > >to use the courts to preserve legal rights. The right to vote was granted > >to blacks only after the Civil War and made effective only after the Civil > >Rights movement, and was granted to women only after many years of > >organizing. To assert that the courts should not intervene to protect > >this right undermines the very right itself. The late Supreme Court > >Justice Thurgood Marshall, a veteran of the Civil Rights movement himself, > >once stated that "the right to vote is preservative of all other > >rights." Surely, the ability, indeed the responsibility, to enforce this > >right is equally important.
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