For Immediate Release from the NAACP headquarters

NAACP CALLS ON ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO TO INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS OF VOTER FRAUD IN FLORID

A Kweisi Mfume, President & CEO, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), has asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate numerous complaints of election irregularities and minority vote dilution in Florida during yesterday's presidential election.

Mfume said: "The NAACP is concerned about reported instances of disproportionate disqualifications of black voters and the failure to pick up at least one ballot box from a heavily black precinct. We have grave concerns that these and other acts may violate the 15th Amendment to the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965."

Mfume also called on the Federal government to oversee a vote recount. "This should not be left to the brother of one of the presidential candidates or his appointee," said Mfume. "We are not suggesting foul play," he said, "but we are very much concerned that foul play can happen."

The NAACP deployed a number of volunteers last night to investigate voter complaints that were reported over a special NAACP voter complaint hot line. In one case, a Miami school principal reported a locked ballot box was found this morning in the school cafeteria in Precinct 803 in the Richmond Heights section of Miami.

The NAACP conducted an unprecedented voter mobilization campaign during the election in several states, including Maryland, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Pennsylvania.

The NAACP's $12 million Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) campaign is responsible for an increased African American voter turnout in several states. The GOTV campaign utilized scores of volunteers, paid staff, a multi-media advertising blitz, the Internet, telephone banks and comprehensive polling studies, resulting in the most massive GOTV effort in the Association's 91-year-history.

Founded in 1909, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

Contact: NAACP Office of Communication 410-486-9227