THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
As I write this, the California Court of Appeals has postponed the October recall election due to a suit filed by the ACLU. The reason for the suit is the punch card balloting system that has not yet been replaced in six counties. Those six counties contain 40 percent of California voters and have higher percentages of minorities than California as a whole. An 11-judge panel from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will soon decide whether or not to uphold the postponement.
The LWVUS was instrumental in helping to draft and pass the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The adoption of HAVA by the Congress did not guarantee the money necessary to complete the task. Congress must appropriate the necessary funds to implement HAVA.
Given the dire fiscal straits in which most states now find themselves, changes will not happen without federal money. It seems that money is available for military aggression but not to insure one of our most basic liberties -- the right of every citizen to have his vote counted.
Our program for the November 12th "Lunch and Learn with the League" will address voting problems in California and in Monterey County. Please plan on attending, whether or not the recall has taken place!
--Beverly G. Bean, President, LWVMP
