Black coalition urge 3 Republicans to resign Ga. election board

By ERNIE SUGGS

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Key leaders of two of Georgia's strongest black organizations are calling for the resignations of three members of the State Election Board for mailing letters to voters that suggested photo ID would be required to cast a ballot Nov. 7.

At a news conference on the steps of the state Capitol, officials from the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and the Coalition for the People's Agenda urged Republican-appointed members Tex McIver, Randy Evans and Jeff Israel to resign from the election board for their part in sending out about 300,000 letters that they say were designed to suppress minority turnout on election day.

David Worley, a Democratic appointment to the five-member board, and Secretary of State Cathy Cox, who is also a Democrat and serves as the board's chair, were not asked to resign.

"We believe this was a deliberate attempt to confuse the voters. A deliberate attempt to further disenfranchise voters," said NAACP President Edward O. DuBose. "The damage has already been done and we are asking those board members to resign."

McIver, vice chairman of the board who headed up the letter campaign, said he intends to stay in office until his term expires in 2008.

"I was voted in by the Georgia state Senate. Everyone in that room, including Democrats, voted for me," McIver said. "And I intend to serve until my term is up. I very much regret that politics continue to creep into the good works of the SEB. We are trying to get people to the polls as best we can. That is our mission."

Calls to Evans and Israel were not immediately returned.

Twice this fall, the board sent letters to 300,000 potential voters believed to not have a valid driver's licence or state-issued ID. The first letter, mailed in September, explained how to get a free photo ID, and suggested one was required to vote Nov. 7. About 200,000 of the first batch of letters were sent after a judge voided the state's new photo ID voting requirement Sept. 19.

The election board, under threat of a civil suit filed by former Gov. Roy Barnes, voted this month to mail a second letter clarifying that photo ID is not required to vote in Georgia.

For many, that is not enough. Rep. John Lewis (D-Atlanta) has asked U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for a federal investigation into the mailings, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson is pushing the issue at a conference he is conducting this week in Atlanta.

When the original 300,000 letters were being prepared to be sent out — before the judge's ruling — the election board unanimously approved the initial mailing. But after the judge's decision, nearly 200,000 of the letters went out under the direction of McIver. Evans drafted the letter. Worley has said the mailing should have been stopped after the judge declared the law unconstitutional.

"Politics have mussed up the election process," said Helen Butler, executive director of the Coalition for the Peoples' Agenda, an alliance of more than 20 civic organizations and churches. "The board has violated the trust of the citizens of Georgia."

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Fort Valley Officials Open Fountain City Football Classic Office

COLUMBUS, Ga. - State Rep. Calvin Smyre, Columbus Mayor Robert Poydasheff, other city officials and representatives of both Albany State and Fort Valley State universities gathered here Thursday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the opening of the Fountain City Classic Office at 1151 Britt Avenue.

"There were a number of individuals from both Albany State and Fort Valley State and from the city of Columbus who worked together to make this a reality," Smyre said during the 11 a.m. ceremony. "This team was unsurpassed in doing what they had to do to make this a reality."

The office will serve as home base for officials working to put on the annual Fountain City Classic football showdown, which pits bitter Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rivals Albany State and Fort Valley. This year's showdown, scheduled for 2 p.m. November 4 at A.J. McClung Memorial Stadium, will be the 17th edition of the Classic.

"This event is important to both of the universities involved, but it is also great for the economy of this city," Poydasheff said. "This is just a wonderful family event; anybody who hasn't been to the Classic is really missing out on something special.

"Having this office serve as a point of contact for individuals who spend up to six months of the year planning the Classic should help make it even better."

Mike Gaymon, President and CEO of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, praised Smyre for his "vision" in bringing the annual Classic to the city.

"We're proud that this event is here," Gaymon said. "I know both schools talk about which one will win the big game, but there are no losers in this event. We look forward to generations that follow talking about the Fountain City Classic."

Angela Getter, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Albany State, stood in for ASU President Everette J. Freeman at the ceremony, while Lee Adams, her counterpart at Fort Valley, subbed for President Larry T. Rivers. Jean Lynn, President of the Albany State Alumni Association's Columbus Chapter and one of the driving forces behind opening the Classic office, also offered remarks.

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GSW president leaves Americus

Hanes joins the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Pennsylvania

AMERICUS--After more than a decade of service to Georgia Southwestern State University, President Michael L. Hanes, Ph.D., today announced that he has accepted a new position as president and chief executive officer of the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, Penn. The appointment begins Jan. 16, 2007.

"I have greatly enjoyed the opportunity to be of service to Georgia Southwestern these past 10 years," Hanes said. "Working together with faculty, staff, students and alumni, we have strengthened a caring community of learning that continues to make a positive difference in the lives of thousands of students. That is a wonderful foundation upon which to build, as the University enters its second century of educational service."

"Under Michael Hanes' leadership, Georgia Southwestern has made significant improvements in its academic programs and its plan for renovating buildings, plus the campus raised more than $14 million during its first capital campaign," said University System of Georgia Interim Chief Academic Officer and Executive Vice Chancellor Beheruz N. Sethna. "We are grateful for Dr. Hanes' contributions as a leader in the University System and for his commitment to public higher education in this state."

"There is never an ideal time to leave a vibrant institution like GSW, as there are always so many activities underway and plans being pursued," Hanes said. "I am grateful for the hard work and dedication embodied by so many members of the Georgia Southwestern community. The people here really do make the difference." The Whitaker Center maintains an innovative "Science through the Arts" theme, and has a unique mission to serve as the center for scientific, artistic, cultural and educational activities that will enhance its region's quality of life and economic vitality.

Since August 1996, Hanes has served as the ninth president of Georgia Southwestern. During his tenure, GSW has made significant advances in a number of areas including the creation of a new honors program, the development of international service learning opportunities with Habitat for Humanity International, the integration of information technologies across the curriculum with online learning potential in every class, and the implementation of a facilities development plan involving major renovation projects in every academic building on campus, the total renovation of eight buildings, and the construction of three buildings for a total investment of more than $70 million. Under his leadership, two phases of a $30 million residence hall construction project are also being completed, offering students state of the art accommodations.

During the Hanes administration, a number of additional accomplishments have been recorded: a campus historic district has been created, recognized by the state of Georgia and under consideration for the National Register of Historic Places; roughly $1.5 million in state grant funds have been secured for campus beautification; the University's first capital campaign has been undertaken, successfully raising more than $14 million, with more than $1 million devoted to scholarships; and an Early College program has been established for at-risk high school students, with grant support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Hanes has led GSW through its Centennial celebration, which concludes in December. Special concerts, convocations and other special events have marked a year-long commemoration.

Hanes served from 1987-96 as the dean of the School of Education at West Chester University. In this role, he worked with NOAA, NASA, and leading corporations to create an international conference where educators could expand their knowledge of environmental science, aerospace and satellite technologies. The conference is entering its 20th year. From 1980-87, he served in several administrative assignments and taught undergraduate and graduate courses as a tenured full professor of education in the College of Education at the University of South Carolina. His responsibilities there included serving as assistant dean for research and development in the College of Education from 1980-84; and executive director of the Presidential Commission on Undergraduate Education, a system-wide commission studying the undergraduate curriculum, from 1984-86.

From 1977-80, Hanes served as director of the Early Education Division of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation in Ypsilanti, Mich. The Foundation specializes in research and technical assistance related to the development and evaluation of educational programs. From 1973-77, he held several concurrent appointments at the University of Florida, including: chairperson of early childhood education in the College of Education and research associate in the Institute for Advanced Study of Communication Processes in the College of Arts and Sciences, both from 1975-77. He also served as a research associate in the Institute for Development of Human Resources from 1973-77.

Hanes has published five books, chapters in eight additional volumes, as well as numerous papers and technical reports in the areas of language development and acquisition, early intervention programs for parents and young children, program evaluation, and educational change. He holds a Bachelor of Science in biology, a Master of Science in educational psychology, and a Ph.D. in educational psychology with minors in developmental psychology and research statistics, all from Indiana University.

Hanes was honored by the Americus Sumter County Chamber of Commerce with the 2002 Volunteer of the Year Award for Economic Development. In 2005, he won the Governor's Award for Historic Preservation Stewardship. That accolade acknowledges his leadership in ensuring that GSW's historic buildings are properly preserved.

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Civil Rights coalition sues GA Republicans of the Election Board, challenging illegal voter registration restrictions

A coalition of Georgia and national civil rights groups filed a lawsuit, against Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox and the State Election Board (SEB), seeking to block Georgia's latest attempt to constrain third-party voter registration activity by private groups. The plaintiffs include the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), Project Vote, the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, the Georgia State Conference of NAACP Branches, and Deacon Dana Williams, the chairman of ACORN in Georgia.

The challenged SEB regulation imposes two new but significant restrictions on private, non-deputized voter registration organizers:

(1) it prohibits the groups from accepting completed voter registration forms from applicants unless they have been sealed by the applicants, and (2) it makes it illegal for anyone, including the

applicant, to make a copy of a completed voter registration form.

The plaintiffs contend that these requirements are contrary to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), which was passed to expand voter registration opportunities for eligible citizens, regardless of where they live or may be found. The SEB rule also tramples on the private voter registration groups' free speech and assembly rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, plaintiffs say, by making it more difficult to organize drives and to stay in contact with potential voters throughout the election season.

For example, the copying ban prevents groups such as ACORN from creating and maintaining registered voter records for follow-up calls prior to Election Day and will hinder quality control and monitoring efforts by those entities.

"It is appalling that a small board of bureaucrats has quietly enacted administrative rules that will have an immediate and adverse impact on third-party voter registration activities," said Edward Hailes, Jr., senior attorney for Advancement Project, a national civil rights and racial justice organization that is assisting in the litigation. "The requirements severely limit the effectiveness of efforts to increase and encourage participation in the political process, especially in communities of color. This matter deserves immediate attention from the courts."

ACORN, the nation's largest reform group of low-and moderate-income families, agrees. "ACORN registered over 22,000 voters [in Georgia] in 2004. We were so successful because we had a quality control system that checked every application collected by our employees. These regulations make that impossible," said Williams. "We are not sure how or if we can operate an effective voter registration program without any ability to check the applications."

The coalition's lawyers contend that the SEB's imposition of these latest voter registration restrictions is part of a disturbing, but all-too-familiar pattern in Georgia and around the country to suppress voting rights in traditionally disadvantaged communities. "Georgia's open recalcitrance and hostility to the mandates of federal voting laws is still very much alive and well, even more than 40 years after the enactment of the Voting Rights Act," said Bradley E. Heard, a founding member of the Atlanta law firm Molden Holley Fergusson Thompson & Heard, LLC, who is serving as lead counsel for the plaintiffs in this lawsuit. "The number of voting rights cases that have arisen in Georgia and across the country over just the past two federal election cycles is proof positive that we still need the watchful eyes of the federal judiciary and vigorous enforcement at the U.S. Department of Justice's Voting Section to ensure that the franchise is adequately protected - particularly for those youth, minority, elderly, and other citizens who have traditionally been under-represented in the nation's civic discourse."