Talk about adding insult to injury!

Some two years after the levees broke in New Orleans, causing the displacement of thousands, many still have not be made whole and are not able to return to New Orleans.

Now, to pile on top of all this, an effort to purge voters from the Louisiana rolls is underway. Fortunately, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund is currently fighting these efforts.  Just imagine the following:

“It is well-known that many of those who remain displaced are African-American voters who have encountered difficulty returning to their residences in Orleans Parish. Thus, this purge has a clear and pronounced effect on minority voting strength,” said Theodore Shaw, LDF Director-Counsel and President. “Until they are able to rebuild and return to their homes, our lawsuit will help ensure that eligible voters retain the right to participate in the political process.”

In June, the state identified more than 55,000 voters as persons potentially registered in more than one state. Interestingly, four of the five states that Louisiana relies upon to identify alleged dual-registrants are all areas where many displaced voters remain including Texas, Mississippi, Georgia and Florida.

The state mailed a 30-day notice to these voters requiring that they submit a cancellation notice of any out-of-state voter registration to their parish Registrar of Voters by mail or fax. In July, many of these voters received a second notice requiring that they appear in person at their respective Louisiana Registrar’s Office to provide evidence as to why their voter registration should not be cancelled. Finally, on August 15, 2007, approximately 21,000 voters were permanently purged from the voter rolls.

The purge is being carried out on the eve of an election cycle scheduled to begin in October. Many of the people who have been removed from the rolls will not be able to participate unless their right to vote is restored.

This is a variation on what many thought would happen — with black folks gone, the voting of that state would tip in the other direction.  We must stay diligent and turn up the heat on those who seek to undermine the black vote.

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