Protect Voting Rights of Katrina Survivors

============================================
ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
To subscribe, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/email
============================================
Please forward widely!

Don't let Katrina survivors' voting rights get washed away!

As if losing their homes, jobs, and family members were not enough, displaced
Katrina survivors are now at risk of being denied their Constitutional right to vote
in Louisiana elections.

Under Lousiana's current election plans, a high percentage of the state's registered
voters who have relocated to other cities and states are in danger of being excluded
from the voting process. Many of them are low-income African Americans and
immigrants.

Few of Louisiana's displaced residents are in a position to return to New Orleans
and other Louisiana cities to vote. For instance, on Monday, February 13th FEMA's
short-term hotel program expires for most of the 26,000 displaced hurricane
survivors, yet most of these evacuees have not been provided with long-term, or even
transitional housing solutions. To protect evacuees' right to vote, it's vital that
Louisiana set up satellite voting centers in other parishes and states where large
numbers of displaced residents are temporarily residing.

For satellite voting to be incorporated into Louisiana's election regulations,
Louisiana's Governor Kathleen Blanco must act by early next week, but until now,
she's waffled on the issue.

Urge Governor Blanco to allow satellite voting for displaced residents from
Louisiana.

Ask her to join the Secretary of State in calling for satellite voting to ensure
that the voting rights of hurricane survivors are not washed away.

Tell her: If the Bush administration can provide satellite voting to enable Iraqis
in the US to vote in Iraq's elections, we can do that for US voters, too. Click
here: http://www.katrinaaction.org/.

And ask folks you know to help keep Katrina on the national agenda by joining the
Katrina Information Network, a great source for news updates and ideas for actions
you can take in less than a minute to push government at
all levels to meet their responsibilities to Katrina survivors. Click here:
http://www.katrinaaction.org/joinourefforts.

============================================
ACTION ALERT * UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
To subscribe, visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org/email