NAACP wants feds to investigate challenges
Staff Writer
Friday, May 09, 2008
A 4th Ward voter said he welcomes the NAACP's call for a federal investigation of his challenge of 18 college students' right to vote in last fall's city elections.
"I would be more than glad for the Department of Justice to come in and investigate how they establish residency in a temporary dorm," Richard Gilbert said.
 File photo by Justin Falls |
| Richard Gilbert (left) sits alongside Holly Koerber in Pasquotank County's Courthouse in courtroom 'C' in Elizabeth City before the start of a residency challenge initiated by Gilbert against City Councilman Kirk Rivers March 18. |
At issue is the Pasquotank and state NAACP chapters' request for an inquiry by the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division into whether Gilbert's challenge of votes by Elizabeth City State University students violated civil rights laws.
Gilbert contested 18 ECSU students' right to vote in the Oct. 9 city elections, claiming they weren't eligible to cast ballots because they hadn't established legal residency in Elizabeth City.
The Rev. William Barber, president of the North Carolina NAACP, and Keith Rivers, president of the Pasquotank County NAACP chapter, both said last week that the Pasquotank Board of Elections should have summarily dismissed Gilbert's challenge, but didn't. As a result, the ECSU students, who are African-American, felt "intimidated and harassed" by Gilbert's challenge, something that shouldn't have been allowed to happen under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Barber said.
But Michele Aydlett, chairwoman of the board of elections, said this week that the board couldn't just dismiss Gilbert's complaint without giving it preliminary consideration.
"We are required by law to hold preliminary consideration for a challenge," Aydlett said. "It cannot be arbitrarily dismissed without consideration."
Aydlett noted that the board dismissed Gilbert's complaint because he failed to show probable cause that what he had alleged had affected the 4th Ward election's outcome. The board also dismissed the complaint because it was filed after the proper deadline, she said.
Gilbert appealed the local board's decision to the State Board of Elections, but then dropped his appeal prior to his hearing date.
Gilbert said he dropped the complaint because it was holding up the seating of Volanda Watts, one of the winners of the 4th Ward election.
"I didn't want to hold up ... Mrs. Watts, who is black, from taking her seat on council," Gilbert said.
Gilbert's wife Ramona had also been a candidate in that election, finishing fourth in the voting for two council seats.
Barber alleged that Gilbert's complaint had caused 18 African-American students who legally voted to be summoned to prove their residency.
But Gilbert said he didn't know the race of any of the students when he filed his complaint.
"I didn't know if they were black or white — I just knew they lived in temporary dorms," he said.
Aydlett said the ECSU students were notified that they were named in Gilbert's complaint, but none were summoned or subpoenaed to attend the hearing.
"We want all registered voters to be able to vote," Aydlett said.
She also pointed out that Bob Hall, director of the nonpartisan group that helped to write the law designed to encourage students to register and vote, attended the elections board meeting where Gilbert's challenge was dismissed. Minutes from that meeting show Hall supported the board's handling of Gilbert's challenge of the student voters' residency, she said.
Barber also suggested that a separate voter residency challenge filed by Gilbert that resulted in Kirk Rivers losing his city council seat was also racially motivated. He said the NAACP wanted federal authorities to investigate that challenge as well, because it could tip the racial balance on city council.
Gilbert said Barber's complaint is without merit.
"It's nothing more than intimidation for a brother who loses his council seat," said Gilbert, noting that local NAACP President Keith Rivers is Kirk Rivers' brother.
Kirk Rivers has appealed the local elections board's decision that he is not a city resident to Superior Court. A hearing on the appeal has been scheduled for Monday.
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Comments
By naacp:learn to help
May 10, 2008 9:53 AM | Link to this
To dj from "inquiring mind"
Actually, if you read my comment to Mr. Grubb, I would hope you would would comprehend that I was being condescending to this person and his misguided ideals. If you noted my lead in,"naacp:learn to help",I was trying to ask for exactly that. The fact that a person like yourself responded tells me we still have some independent thinkers out there, thank god.
As a last point, if you think affirmative action is dead, I will assume you not a white male; because it is alive and well. Also, keep in mind when you are speaking with a middle aged white male, as he may be one of the ones who were passed over for promotion to help "overly" level the playing field
Dj, good luck in your future endeavors and I look forward to reading your comments in the future.
By harley babe
May 9, 2008 10:49 PM | Link to this
you know i had only to read a few sentences,and there again is the word rivers.lets take all the rivers and do one giant background check on there differen't ways they got where they are today,and how many laws were broke.when you have enough background information on all,then lets try them all at once.thank you.
By dj
May 9, 2008 6:45 PM | Link to this
Inquring Mind
Why are you so small minded? If you haven't met intellegent black people and you narrow your reference of black people's ability to driving by low income housing, then what does that say about you and your small world? (By the way, there are some great people that had their beginnings in low income America). Maybe you don't live far from these low income projects and don't get out much. I don't know.
If you look around I'm sure you will find plenty of African Americans that are smarter, wiser and more financially advantaged than you are.
On the one hand you want to say that the government has leveled the playing field (as if to acknowledge that African Americans have had a social and economical disadvantage), then on the other you want to gripe about it. Haven't you heard, affirmative action is dead!!!
You want to talk about the good white folks. Thank God for all good people with sincere motives who are tired of injustice (White and Black). I'm not even going to get into who did what in this country. I can say thought that I am doing my part in keeping it going.
If I sound condescending, So What!!! I'm over being concerned about people with negative attitudes. We all have to live together.
Now to the point. When I was an undergraduate student in Greensboro, NC, I drove 4.5 hours to Elizabeth City just to cast my ballot. I don't believe that this is a race issue. There has to be a consistant guideline to establish residency. That man found a loop hole and he used it. That's all.
By This is stupid
May 9, 2008 6:44 PM | Link to this
Mr. Grubb,
I am not sure I follow your post unless you were posting about the black woman who falsely accused the white Duke students and had NAACP as well as Jackson and Sharpton running with this as a race crime. After it was found that the black woman was the racist there has yet to be an apology to the white people by you or Jackson or Sharpton. Right now Sharpton is raising a fuss about the Bell verdict and about the cops beating 3 black guys in Pa. There were black cops involved and that goes overlooked. It's a double standard. It says you don't want equality but you want to get away with things because of your race. If this is not true then stop demonstrating it to be true. It's a double standard and now you are posting of entitlement. Blacks are no more entitled to anything than whites are. What you or anyone else is entitled to comes from hard, honest work void of skin color. I swear it looks like you racist groups live for such as this just so you can promote hate and racism and be the victim that your SOME of ancestors were more than 140 years ago. Gilbert was not being racist and only a racist would see it as such and it's stupid. The good news is that when this generation of those feeling sorry for themselves and entitled dies. It ends this fight to keep racism active and peace will be found. In case you haven't noticed. The mixed race is steadily growing in numbers and a mixed race could be the next president. I have seen where some feel like they can EXPECT to receive favors and favoritism by this and I would be appaled to see Obama deny his white blood to satisfy those of nonwhite blood who feel entitled. I believe Obama will work to break racism up from the black side and the white side. He can't deny his white mother nor can he deny the many more of those older and younger than he is with mixed race parents.
You should apologize to Mr. Gilbert and try understanding how things work outside of the racial blinders your organization wears. You could lead the NAACP into newer and better beginnings.
Stop it, just stop it already!
By naacp:learn to help
May 9, 2008 5:39 PM | Link to this
To Lou Grubb: I don't see what your post has to do with anything we are dealing with. As an aside, our country with all it's "rights" has only been around approx. 230 years,and the good-hearted white folk fought a bitter war and freed you 165 years ago. Before that we were a british (or french, depending on the area) colony, so take it up with them; so the old "hundreds of years" rhetoric doesn't fly with anyone any longer. I agree at one time the free black helped build this once-great country, but any drive through a low-income housing project will show what has become of that ability. I also feel in the last few decades government rulings have given the non-asian minority many more financial set-asides, gov't. jobs, and no-strings grants to overly level any playing field (at a cost of approx. 40 BILLION dollars), and yet the bitching doesn't stop. Please explain to this inquiring mind.
By Pete Gilbert
May 9, 2008 3:11 PM | Link to this
To whomever posted using my name be man enough to use your own name when posting your vile hate. I am not that kind of person, no matter what the puppets tell everyone. I don't agree with all the racial comments from either side. If you knew me you would know that. So man up and be your own person and use your own name. This isn't the 50's and we better learn to live together, both sides. Quit hating, learn to talk to each other, communication is the key to understanding. I wasn't going to post on these forums for hatred but I thought I needed to defend my name from the hate filled moron who posted using my name. What I am doing is because someone broke the law, not because he is one color or another. If you knew me you would know that.
By Mr. Gilbert
May 9, 2008 2:33 PM | Link to this
THANK YOU BLOOD IN BLOOD OUT PEOPLE LIKE YOU MAKE IT EASY FOR A GANG SHOW THEM HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE THAT WHITE HOOD HIDING COULD BE SO THANK YOU E.C FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND KEEP THEM COMING 500 STRONG NOW
By Llewellyn Grubb-southwest Va. Chapter NAACP
May 9, 2008 2:22 PM | Link to this
From: amlgrubb@hotmail.com
Date: May 9, 2008 11:05:49 AM EDT
To: advance.circ@coxnc.com
Subject: The Daily Advance On-Line Customer Service Form
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
name: Lou Grubb
address: 990 W. Jefferson St.
city: Wytheville
state: Va.
zip: 24382
phone: 2762230325
email: amlgrubb@hotmail.com
message: I am the intern president of the Southwest Va. Chapter Of The NAACP. About the comments made about the ECSU students voters rights. We do not agree with African Americans calling whites names, this should not be done. For hundreds of years we have not had the same equal rights under the law. Our land was purchased for very little profit, and we were unable to do anything about it. Maybe the person writing the comment should know, African Americans had a great deal to do with building this nation.
By Understanding ugc
May 9, 2008 12:15 PM | Link to this
Nothwithstanding grammer and misspelled words, ugc is kind of easy to understand once you see his/her style of writing. Read it as if you were reading poetry. It's "e e cummings writing in prose"......
By ugc
May 9, 2008 11:25 AM | Link to this
Hello, STILL WAITING...
I love you to, we all are good at something, and I sure hope you are good at waiting, I know this will be new to you, waiting is something you do, when you do not know what to do. So please stop waiting. Unless you are unable to find you way.
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