The Hindu : International : Charges of dirty tricks fly thick and fast

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Wednesday, Nov 03, 2004

International

International

Charges of dirty tricks fly thick and fast

By Julia MaloneNew York Times News Service

WASHINGTON, NOV. 2. Civil rights groups have alleged dirty tricks, ``unprecedented'' challenges of voter eligibility, and bureaucratic bungling around the country as the United States went to the polls on Tuesday.

The incidents are signs of ``the racist impulses of people who are so desperate to prevail that they will break the law again and again and again,'' said Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP, one of the sponsors of the study.

Bid to confuse voters

Mr. Bond charged that in recent years, Republicans have tried to suppress voting, especially in the African American community.

The Republican National Committee countered that dirty tricks are also being used to dissuade and confuse their voters and charged that the report was part of a deliberate Democratic strategy to allege voter intimidation, whether it exists or not.

The 21-page report catalogues voter complaints, including many logged in by lawyer volunteers working for a nationwide Election Protection hotline run the NAACP, People for the American Way and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Among the examples cited are a bogus flyer that instructs voters, ``Due to the immense voter turnout that is expected on Tuesday, the State of Pennsylvania has requested an extended voting period.'' The flyer says Republicans should vote on November 2 and Democrats on November 3.

Counter-charge

Republican National Committee spokesman Jim Dyke, responding to the civil rights groups, offered his party's list of grievances.

Among them were flyers showing the photo of a fireman hosing a black man in what appears to be a civil rights confrontation from the 1960s in the South, seeking to blame Republicans for past and present voter discrimination. ``This is what they used to do to keep us from voting,'' the flyer states. It adds that ``Republicans are trying to keep African Americans from voting now.''

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