FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 15, 2012
For More Information: Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137
Mrs. Amina J. Turner, Executive Director, 919-682-4700
Atty. Jennifer Marsh, Legal Redress Coordinator, 919-682-4700
The N.C. NAACP and the Duplin County NAACP beat back an effort by the right-wing General Assembly to undercut voting rights protections in Duplin County. The U.S. District Court agreed with the NAACP's request that the Court should enforce a consent decree that governs the elections of the Duplin County Board of County Commissioners and Board of Education. The NAACP's request was made in response to House Bill 528, which the General Assembly passed last year, that would have added an at-large seat to both boards. Won by the NAACP in 1988, the consent decree orders all representatives in the county to be elected from single-member districts and was put in place to remedy Duplin's violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, when it was found that African American voters did not have an equal opportunity to elect their candidates of choice.
The NAACP, both the state conference and the local branch, the Duplin County Boards, and the State Attorney General all recognized that the law passed by the General Assembly violated the consent decree. Because the Attorney General would not defend the law, Rep. Jimmy Dixon intervened and asked that the consent decree be changed so the bill passed by the General Assembly could be implemented. The U.S. District Court ruled that Dixon and the General Assembly failed to meet their burden to show that the circumstances in Duplin County had changed sufficiently to modify the consent decree.
The NAACP recognizes the important role that the Voting Rights Act continues to play in ensuring that minorities get to participate equally and fairly in the electoral process. The NAACP will continue to defend minority voting rights across the state.
###
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
0 comments:
Post a Comment