To: National Desk

Contact: Michael Slater of Project Vote, 503-932-5778

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Project Vote today contacted the St. Louis Board of Elections to express its concerns that recent actions taken by the Board may suppress votes of the St. Louis minority community and violate federal and state voting rights laws in the Nov. 7 elections.

Project Vote specifically cites as examples of voter suppression an Oct. 24 notice sent by the Board that contains misleading and intimidating wording to recent registrants and the Board's refusal to register applicants. Because of the closeness of the election and the possibility of so many people being denied the ability to vote, Project Vote asks the Board to take steps to rectify these problems by the close of business today, Oct. 30.

"With the Nov. 7 elections approaching fast, there is a strong likelihood that thousands of voters will be disenfranchised unless the Board immediately changes its procedures and issues a revised notice," said Michael Slater, director of elections administration at Project Vote.

"If this dispute is not resolved by the close of business today, all other options for vindicating the legal rights of the registrants will be on the table, including filing a voting rights lawsuit in federal court," Slater added, echoing the content of a letter sent on the organization's behalf by The Advancement Project, a national civil rights organization, to the St. Louis Board of Elections today.

The notice was sent to voter registration mail-in applicants whose applications were submitted by ACORN - Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - to election officials between July 31, 2006 and Oct. 11, 2006. Most of applications were filled out by people in the African-American community.

The notice is the focused of concern because it informs applicants that they are not registered to vote and requires them to verify their registration by calling the Board by Nov. 1, 2006 to answer unspecified questions. The notice suggests that the Board may be investigating their application, along with other ACORN applications and asks applicants to sign and write their telephone number on the notice, and mail it to election officials.

"The notice has caused significant concern because it appears to be an unlawful attempt to suppress and intimidate voters of color. It also suggests that the Board may have unlawfully refused to register applicants and failed to properly notify applicants of the status of their applications. This is a violation of the National Voter Registration Act, the Voting Rights Act, and Missouri law," said Slater.

Project Vote is a nonpartisan, non-profit, organization founded in 1982 with a commitment to voter engagement and participation efforts, especially in the low-income and minority communities.

For a copy of the letter please contact Mike Slater at 503-932-5778 or go to http://www.projectvote.org .

http://www.usnewswire.com/

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/© 2006 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/

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