Voting While Black
/The smell of voter suppression coming out
of Florida is getting stronger. It turns out that a Florida Department
of Law Enforcement investigation, in which state troopers have gone
into the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando in a bizarre hunt for
evidence of election fraud, is being conducted despite a finding by the
department last May "that there was no basis to support the allegations
of election fraud." State officials have said that the investigation,
which has already frightened many voters and intimidated elderly
volunteers, is in response to allegations of voter fraud involving
absentee ballots that came up during the Orlando mayoral election in
March. But the department considered that matter closed last spring,
according to a letter from the office of Guy Tunnell, the
department's commissioner, to Lawson Lamar, the state attorney in
Orlando, who would be responsible for any criminal prosecutions. [more 
] The letter, dated May 13, said:
"These guys are using these intimidating methods to try and get these folks to stay away from the polls in the future," said Eugene Poole, president of the Florida Voters League, which tries to increase black voter participation throughout the state. "And you know what? It's working. One woman said, `My God, they're going to put us in jail for nothing.' I said, `That's not true.' " [more
] The letter, dated May 13, said: "These guys are using these intimidating methods to try and get these folks to stay away from the polls in the future," said Eugene Poole, president of the Florida Voters League, which tries to increase black voter participation throughout the state. "And you know what? It's working. One woman said, `My God, they're going to put us in jail for nothing.' I said, `That's not true.' " [more
