Legislators Charge Racism in New Orleans Election Bill
New Orleans, LA - Black lawmakers walked out of the Louisiana House on Monday and said their colleagues’ refusal to let New Orleans evacuees vote at satellite locations around the state amounted to “blatant racism.�
After losing the vote on the election bill, the 23 House members of the Louisiana Legislative Black Caucus attempted to immediately end the special session four days early. When that move failed, the black caucus — comprising roughly 20 percent of the 104-member House — walked out of the chamber.
“This session has been very divisive, very ineffective,� said Rep. Cedric Richmond, the New Orleans Democrat who heads the caucus, whose membership includes some of Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s staunchest allies.
The fracas over the election bill was another setback for Blanco, who called the special session of the Legislature to promote recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Also in trouble were:
- A proposed regional levee board to oversee flood protection all around lakes Borgne, Pontchartrain and Maurepas. Blanco’s bill was still stalled Monday and the House approved legislation that merges only some levee operations.
- A housing package that is supposed to repopulate the greater New Orleans area by helping storm victims repair or dispose of damaged homes or relocate to other neighborhoods. The senator handling the bills for the governor couldn’t answer questions about them and delayed a vote Monday.
- A proposed shrinking of local government agencies in New Orleans. None of the bills to eliminate some elected positions advanced Monday, and some appeared dead.
Caucus members said they would return to participate in legislative proceedings today although they made it clear they were unhappy about the lack of progress on issues near and dear to them, such as housing.
House Bill 14 would have let New Orleans evacuees vote for a new mayor, City Council and other offices in satellite locations in Baton Rouge and nine other Louisiana major metropolitan areas. Early balloting would have taken place from April 10 to April 15.
HB14 needed 53 votes for passage but received only 46.
“It was an embarrassing display of racism clouded behind some arguments that didn’t make any sense at all,� Rep. Jailia Jefferson-Bullock, D-New Orleans, sponsor of the legislation, said after the bill’s demise.
Leading the opposition were Republican lawmakers.
House and Governmental Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Charles Lancaster, R-Metairie, said the state has gone as far as it should go with a “liberalized� absentee voting plan.
Lancaster referred to legislation nearing final approval that would allow some people who registered by mail to vote absentee.
Present law requires voters who registered by mail to cast ballots the first time in person so their identity can be confirmed.
Lancaster said the New Orleans elections are too important to be embarking on a “pilot program� that relies on a computer network to link Orleans voting records with the registrars in the 10 participating parishes.
“If everything doesn’t work entirely right we could end up messing up the election in the city of New Orleans,� Lancaster said.
Rep. Peppi Bruneau, R-New Orleans, said HB14 creates “equal protection� problems because all displaced voters, like those in Atlanta, for instance, would not be given the same opportunity to vote.
But other lawmakers said Lancaster and Bruneau were making excuses.
“Now is the time to try something different. We have never been hit in these United States with a disaster like that which hit us with Hurricane Katrina,� said Rep. Bryan Hammett, D-Ferriday. “There is the competency and the technology to do what this bill attempts to do.�
Rep. Willie Hunter, D-Monroe, said it is important for displaced New Orleans voters to know that “when they come back that they have played a part in the political process� by electing those who will shape New Orleans future.
The House action came on the day that the Legislature signed off on a plan that allows the state to implement special procedures so that the New Orleans election can proceed as planned April 22.
The plan, which now goes to the U.S. Department of Justice for approval, allows for changes in parish voting locations as well as the use of election personnel from outside the parish. The Justice Department reviews the plan to insure that the voting rights of people are protected.