SPECIAL PODCAST: Charges leveled of voter suppression of African American women; agency responds to BWV

Since the name of this blog is Black Women Vote -- clearly any charge of targeted suppression of black female votes will be keenly followed and reported here. I have been advised that the NAACP has filed a complaint of voter suppression, charging that an agency has targeted the Black female vote, especially, for voter confusion.

I also have read some investigative reports conducted by National Public Radio (NPR) that looks into claims of activity that inadvertently or purposefully suppresses the participation black female voters in this election cycle.

My aim is to get at the truth, so let us listen carefully to both sides before forming opinions. - - Arlene Fenton


** UPDATE ** I received a call back from a representative from Women's Voices, Women's Vote today. They will be given the opportunity to present their side of the facts concerning this breaking story on our podcast TONIGHT. Stay tuned for more details. **

There is a firestorm brewing about the activities of a powerful non-profit group called "Women's Voices, Women's Vote" -- with allegations made that this agency tried to suppress voter participation, especially the participation of African American women in the Democratic presidential primaries.

This is a very serious charge, therefore I will do my best to give as much information as possible, and encourage my readers to create their own informed opinions.

Women's Voices, Women's Vote (WVWV) is an organization whose stated purpose is 'to activate unmarried Americans in their government and in our democracy.' According to their website, their more notable accomplishments include:

• Completion of a same day registration program in Minnesota and Wisconsin with over 400,000 contacts (2006)
  
• The registration of nearly 90,000 new voters across the country (2006)
• The generation of nearly 30,000 vote by mail applications in a test program in vote by mail states (2006)
• In the 16 states where WVWV ran programs, unmarried women turnout increased by 8.25 percent over (2000)
• In WVWV's top 8 states for program activity, unmarried women turnout increased by 10.5 percent (2000)
• In WVWV's final 4 states, unmarried women turnout increased by 13.5 percent (2000)

WVWV has also created some really nice PSA's directed toward unmarried women, as seen here:





So, what's the problem?

There were problems with timing and delivery of the messages. Lately, WVWV concentrated on registering Black unmarried females, by crafting messages that are tailor-made for our demographic, with some unfortunate results.

The brouhaha can be summed up by the NAACP's talking points:

Calls made to white women were as follows: "Hi. Just a reminder. Your voter registration form is in the mail to you. Your voice counts and your vote [indecipherable]. Sign it, date it and send it in. Thanks!"

But the calls that went to African American women and men went something like this:

"Hello. This is Lamont Williams. In the next few days, you will receive a voter-registration packet in the mail. All you need to do is fill it out, sign it, date and return your application. Then, you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return your registration form when it arrives. Thank you."

Is the NAACP was splitting hairs? Apparently a growing number of consumer advocates don't think so, given the following considerations:

Many of these robo-calls were made AFTER the registration deadline, to Black women who were already registered to vote. Quite a few registered Black women who received the calls became very concerned that they were NOT registered and were therefore ineligible to vote.

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, declared the phone calls illegal, stating: "Regardless of the motivation, the robo-calls violated the law and they needed to stop..."

From what I understand so far, WVWV asserts that it was an innocent mistake, and makes the following statement:

"In February, March and early April of this year, WVWV registered 26,000 voters in North Carolina, approximately 57 percent of whom are African American.. " "No organization that would spend resources to register these voters would then turn around and attempt to disenfranchise them in May." (source)

From what I understand, WVWV might have actually registered more black female voters than the NAACP has. The group has also made efforts to stop mailings that are being sent to states that still have pending primaries. Is this all a big misunderstanding?

The NAACP doesn't think so. I, personally, don't know what to think. A few days ago, the NAACP just filed a complaint against them with the Dept. of Justice, claiming that WVWV has made 'deceptive' and 'illegal' automated phone calls to residents -- especially to black women.


But here is where the story gets interesting:

FOLLOWING THE MONEY TRAIL

National Public Radio (NPR) started to follow the money trail of WVWV and it claims that it leads squarely into Hillary Clinton's inner circle. Due to the current political climate, critics are now viewing this situation with a more jaundiced eye. NPR created the following diagram: Following the Money Trail and Political Connections for Women's Voices, Women's Votes which displays WVWV's leadership as a virtual 'who's who' of the Clinton hierarchy.

According to the Washington Post:
By Shailagh Murray

Sunday, May 4, 2008; Page A10

"Women's Voices, Women
Vote is one of those little advocacy organizations with a lot of big names attached: Former White House chief of staff John Podesta is a board member, Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams has consulted, and founder Page Gardner worked for the 1992 Bill Clinton campaign, to name a few.

But for all the paid and unpaid talent associated with the group, which focuses on registering unmarried women to vote, it's landed in legal hot water in North Carolina for robo-calling voters after the primary registration date and for not identifying the group in the call.

Voters and watchdog groups complained about the calls, and North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper ordered them to stop on Wednesday. Some saw a turnout-suppression conspiracy because the group's allies include so many Clinton supporters, especially Podesta and Williams.

On Friday, Barack Obama's campaign weighed in by circulating the transcript of a National Public Radio report on the calls. It noted that the North Carolina calls seemed to heavily skew to African Americans, including many women who had already registered, causing them to question whether they were eligible to vote in the primary on Tuesday.

In a statement released on its Web site, the group explains that the calls were part of a general-election outreach effort in 24 states and coincided with mailings that conveyed a similar "hurry up and register" message. But in other states as well, the mailings and calls were placed after primary registration deadlines had passed, sowing confusion and leading to other legal
complaints against the group.

"The calls were scheduled to coincide with the arrival of the voter registration applications," the group said in a statement. "We regret any confusion that has arised as a consequence of this
timing." Podesta weighed in as well, calling the North Carolina situation "a mistake of judgment and execution, and not an attempt to disenfranchise voters."

Although the calls have stopped, the group is chasing down postal trucks to withdraw the mailers from circulation. Inside the organization, there is plenty of finger-pointing about who's to blame -- but by the end of the week, even some of the bloggers who had raised the specter of a Clinton conspiracy seemed to accept that shoddy management, despite all that talent, was the more
likely culprit." (source)

Let us make up our minds, once we have asked our own questions. What do you think so far? Be sure to tune in tonight at The Queen's Council, 9:00pm to decide for yourself!