NAACP Will Monitor Voting November 7th

BALTIMORE - The NAACP announced yesterday that it would monitor voting in Pennsylvania and nine other states next month, sending observers to polling places, taking citizen complaints, and notifying the Justice Department of any serious problems.

The states were chosen based on those with pivotal elections, concentrations of black voters, specific races or ballot initiatives of interest to black voters, or a history of polling problems, according to the Baltimore civil rights organization.

President Bruce Gordon urged voters to persist in trying to cast ballots.

"While the NAACP will take steps to counter obstacles to voter participation, we are encouraging our communities to cast their votes, even if it requires extra effort," he said in a statement released before a news conference at the group's headquarters.

"Civil rights activists went to extraordinary lengths to earn the right for black Americans to vote. Some lost their lives. We owe it to them and ourselves to honor their sacrifice by voting, no matter what challenges we face."

In addition to Pennsylvania, the NAACP planned to have hundreds of volunteers monitoring the election in Maryland, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas.

The NAACP will run an election day voter command center at its headquarters and take calls from concerned citizens at 1-866-687-8683 (1-866-OUR-VOTE).

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