Howard Simon, ACLU Executive Director, Says Florida Voting Changes Are Racist and Wrong

America has turned against black and Hispanic voters.As I show in my column this week, 41 states have recently pushed forward with voting restrictions that will primarily effect minorities. Mostly Republican legislators, who flooded into office after the 2010 election, have shortened registration periods, required photo IDs at the polls,...

By Chuck Strouse

June 6, 2012

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America has turned against black and Hispanic voters.

As I show in my column this week, 41 states have recently pushed forward with voting restrictions that will primarily effect minorities. Mostly Republican legislators, who flooded into office after the 2010 election, have shortened registration periods, required photo IDs at the polls, and cut Sunday voting.

These Republicans have alleged the changes were meant to keep the voting process honest. They have lied.

What they are really doing is trying to make it harder for President Obama to win reelection. To do so, they are screwing primarily blacks and Hispanics, who are more strongly effected by these measures.

In the below video, Florida ACLU director Howard Simon, who made the Selma to Montgomery march back in 1965 that sparked passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, discusses the racist nature of the voting changes.

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Chuck Strouse is the former editor in chief of Miami New Times. He has shared two Pulitzer Prizes and won dozens of other awards. He is an honors graduate of Brown University and has worked at newspapers including the Miami Herald and Los Angeles Times.

Contact: Chuck Strouse

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Twitter: @chuckstrouse