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“I've watched the legislature for many years, as well as
serving for seven, as well as becoming one of the leaders
and I have never seen the tactics being used now to curtail
the vote,” said Ford as he opened the news conference
surrounded by several other councilmen, two area ministers
and a prominent local attorney.
“It's harmful and shameful,” he added. “and a direct sham to
prevent votes – targeted towards black voters.”
Ford's ire was raised by recent state Republicans move to
shorten the early voting period – reducing it from 35 to 29
days before an election; new restrictions on absentee
balloting and a restriction on the number of state employees
who may mass mail absentee ballots.
Certain provisions, such as the early voting days, were
enacted after the 2004 presidential election during which
the nation witnessed long lines of voters and defective
voting machines in Ohio, especially in central citing
polling sites.
“We didn't pay enough attention to what [Ohio Secretary of
State] Blackwell was doing in the run-up to the [2004]
election,” recalled Ford. “If we had, [Democratic candidate]
John Kerry might have won the presidency.”
The early voting provisions were then passed in the General
Assembly with bipartisan support.
However, the presidential elections of 2008 and 2012 brought
out African Americans in record numbers to support
candidate, now president, Barack Obama. Nationally, black
voters turned out in greater percentages than any other
ethnic or racial group.
“It is feared that a Republican can't win in Ohio without
diluting the black vote,” said Ford on Monday as he pointed
out just why the majority party would now wish to change the
early voting provisions.
Ford said that he would be trying to mobilize various
segments of the population to get petitions signed and the
Voter Bill of Rights on the ballot. He will be contacting
the bishops of large religious conventions – such as,
Baptists, Church of God in Christ, AME; he will be sending
correspondence to state NAACP directors, the UAW,
fraternities and sororities, etc.
Noting that he teaches several courses at The University of
Toledo on African-American studies that touch on the
Reconstruction period after the Civil War and
Reconstruction's aftermath, Ford compared the present day
effort to roll back voting rights with what happened in
southern states after 1877.
“That was an attempt to roll back the impact of the 13th,
14th an 15th Amendments to the
Constitution,” he said of such measures as poll taxes and
literacy tests. “In a way, that's what we're doing here in
Ohio now.”
He suggested that the Democratic members of the General
Assembly should shut down the legislature in Columbus to
bring attention of the matter to voters.
Also in attendance at the press conference were Toledo City
Councilmen Mike Craig and Matt Cherry; Revs. John Roberts,
pastor of Indiana Avenue Missionary Baptist Church, and
Cedric Brock, pastor of Mt. Nebo Missionary Baptist Church
and president of the Interdenominational Ministerial
Alliance; attorney Richard Mitchell and Ray Wood, president
of the Toledo chapter of the NAACP.
“This shows that we are going backwards,” said Brock of the
attempts to roll back voting practices. “A quantum leap
backwards. This is a tragedy.”
“I concur,” said Wood. “We need 385,000 signatures to push
through this petition. We have to make sure people
understand this attack on voting.” |
