EMO Celebration
City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, at right, with friends at the Ecumenical
Ministries of Oregon’s Community Awards and Celebration Dinner, May 8
at the Portland Hilton. The group’s 2012 Ecumenical Service Award was
posthumously given to Robert Ingram. The award is presented in
recognition of his special achievements in Oregon. Also at the event,
Rev. Dr. Leroy Haines was honored as the group’s new board president.
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NAACP Voter Registration Push
ATLANTA (AP) — Saying it won't let
recently enacted voter ID laws suppress
turnout, the NAACP on Wednesday
launched a nationwide drive to register thou-
sands of mostly minority, student and elderly
voters before the Nov. 6 elections.
The National Association for the Advance-
ment of Colored People says these groups
could be the ones most affected by laws
requiring them to show identification before
they can exercise their right to vote.
The NAACP has once again teamed up
with the National Urban League to sponsor
the National Voter Empowerment Hotline at
1-866-MyVote1 (1-866-698-6831).
A single call to the hotline can help you:
-- Register to vote
-- Find your polling station, or
-- Answer any voting questions or prob-
lems you may have
NAACP President Ben Jealous said the
nation's oldest and largest civil rights organi-
zation would work harder and smarter to
meet the new voting requirements. He
framed them as a negative reaction to historic
voter turnout in 2008 that led to Barack
Obama's election as the first black U.S. pres-
ident.
"Were we students of history, we would've
expected that night, when everybody was
celebrating, that we needed to be preparing
for what we're dealing with right now," he
said, referring to election night 2008. "We
saw the largest most diverse presidential
electorate this country has ever seen.
"Every time that the vote has been expand-
ed, especially for black people
in this country, it has been fol-
lowed by a massive backlash,"
Jealous added. "We will
ensure that those who intend to
steal this election cannot."
It is unclear whether or how
such laws may affect voter
turnout in the fall.
For example, in Georgia, —
the first state to hold a major
election in which voter ID
laws were in effect — black
turnout jumped from 25 per-
cent in 2004 to 30 percent in 2008, when
Obama was elected, despite the new require-
ments. Overall turnout also was the largest in
state history.
Jealous said the NAACP is the only group
outside of the two major political parties with
a voter database for all 50 states. The organ-
ization has operations in 1,200 communities
and on 150 college campuses.
The strategy also includes the return of the
NAACP's national voter empowerment hot-
line, registration mailings to more than 1
million black youth who will turn 18 by
Election Day and partnerships with national
religious organizations and black fraternities
and sororities.
The NAACP also has been training volun-
teers for nearly a year. Jealous said it is
focusing on a dozen states: Virginia, Ohio,
New York, North Carolina, Michigan, Penn-
sylvania, Florida, Mississippi, Texas,
Missouri, California and Georgia.
According to the Pew Research Center, the
2008 election saw record turnout among
blacks, Hispanics and Asians, with black
women accounting for the highest voter
turnout rate among all racial, ethnic and gen-
der groups for the first time. Voter turnout
among blacks ages 18 to 29 also was higher
than that of young eligible voters of any
other racial and ethnic group that year, anoth-
er first.
Nearly all black voters, or 95 percent, cast
ballots for Obama.
ElectionDay
May 15
Get your ballots in by 8 p.m.
Tuesday – by mail or drop-off
Page 12 The Portland Skanner May 9, 2012