Obama Incites Republicans With New North Carolina Black Voters

Obama Incites Republicans With New North Carolina Black Voters

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=atnbqUvhWPWs&refer=us

By Heidi Przybyla

Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The North Carolina waterfront community of Elizabeth City witnessed an early skirmish in a high-stakes political battle over registering new black voters, which may help decide the outcome of the presidential election.

Republican voter Richard Gilbert last year challenged the eligibility of several students at historically black Elizabeth City State University to vote in a municipal election. The local elections board dismissed Gilbert's complaint that students are only temporary residents in the town of about 20,000 people.

The North Carolina NAACP in May asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether the Elizabeth City complaint was aimed at discouraging lawful voting by black students. ``We challenged that because it could have a ripple effect across North Carolina,'' said the state NAACP President, Reverend William Barber.

Gilbert said race played no role in his challenge, which stemmed from his opinion that the students had ``no stake'' in the town and were being used as ``political pawns.''

Republicans scored an election-year victory in April, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Indiana's law requiring voters to produce photo identification. Democrats had challenged the measure, saying photo identification requirements in Indiana and other states discourage voting by the elderly and the poor.

Democratic activists and civil rights groups say many new rules will suppress voting by blacks and other minority groups that historically favor Democrats. While voter-eligibility clashes have happened before, Obama's registration push raises the stakes and the intensity of this year's contests.

``Almost every one of those provisions that have been sponsored at the state and national level have been sponsored by Republicans, and almost uniformly opposed by Democrats,'' said Jonah Goldman, director of the National Campaign for Fair Elections, Voting Rights Project. ``It is an incredibly poisonous partisan environment.''

edited by scharrison. note: I actually left more than should be quoted, and probably took stuff out the OP wanted people to see. Such is life. If people here want to post a "substantial" diary, a healthy portion of that substance should come from them, not someone else.