Red tape and foot-dragging on the part of FEMA may prevent thousands of Black voters dispersed by Hurricane Katrina from voting in local elections.
"Black voters are not the only ones facing the hardships of relocation, but they are the group most affected by Katrina...While there are no hard numbers for how many of the 300,000 New Orleans evacuees are black, it appears to be well over two-thirds. Pre-Katrina New Orleans had a population of 500,000, of which nearly 70 percent was black.
"With 73 percent of New Orleans residents over the age of 18, according to Census 2000, roughly 219,000 of the New Orleans evacuees should be of voting age. If we estimate conservatively that 70 percent of those evacuees are black, that’s 153,300 black voters whose poll tapes FEMA is replacing with red tape. This is voter disenfranchisement by attrition."
Read the full story: Voter Disenfranchisement by Attrition
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
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