ADF: La. AG stops voter disenfranchisement in three parishes
http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4706
ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND STATEMENT
October 14, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom
La. AG stops voter disenfranchisement
in three parishes
ADF commends La. attorney general’s office for preventing elections officials from tossing out valid voter registrations delivered by pastors
BATON ROUGE, La. — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund are commending the Louisiana Attorney General’s office for stepping in to resolve the possible illegal disenfranchisement of voters in at least three of the state’s parishes. Voting officials in Acadia, Jefferson Davis, and St. Landry parishes initially rejected stacks of voter registration forms gathered at churches and by other means as part of the Louisiana Family Forum’s Voter Registration Project despite the fact that the forms met all statutory requirements.
After intervention by the attorney general’s office, parish officials accepted the forms.
“A democratic government should not wrongfully silence its people,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson. “The voter registration forms contained all of the information required by law. Absolutely no reason existed to reject these registrations, which were all submitted in accordance with the law by local pastors after registration drives at their churches. We thank Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s office for preventing the disenfranchisement of these voters.”
ADF Senior Legal Counsel Mike Johnson submitted a letter to Caldwell’s office, explaining that the only item missing from the forms was the official address of the voter registration office. Johnson explained that the lack of that address could not be a legitimate basis for rejecting new voter applications since the law allows for the forms to be hand-delivered. The attorney general’s office told Johnson that they were already working to correct the problem.
ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.