ACLU CALLS FOR INVESTIGATION OF DECEPTIVE PRACTICES IN SIGNATURE COLLECTION FOR ANTI-AFFIRMATIVE ACTION INITIATIVE PETITION

The ACLU of Oklahoma called for an investigation of irregularities and deceptive practices in the collection of signatures for the so-called Oklahoma Civil Rights Initiative on Friday, February, 8, 2008. The initiative is one of a series of ballot measures that conservative businessman Ward Connerly’s American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) has spearheaded across the country. ACRI has been accused of using fraudulent and deceptive practices in nearly every state where it has introduced initiatives.

The ACLU’s call for action follows Oklahoma Secretary of State M. Susan Savage’s reluctant certification of the ballot initiative late on Thursday, February 7. In her letter to the Oklahoma Supreme Court certifying the signatures and submitting them for review, Savage noted that the signature count “has resulted in an unprecedented situation where large numbers of duplicate names and addresses were discovered well into the signature counting process by the SOS [Secretary of State]. Even with the extensive effort made to manually cross check names and addresses, it is a reasonable assumption that not all duplicates have been discovered.” Savage also noted that her report to the court took much more time to compile than usual “due to the scope and number of irregularities noted among the signature pages . . .”

“This initiative is an attempt by out-of-state zealots to impose their anti-equality agenda on the voters of Oklahoma,” said ACLU of Oklahoma Program Coordinator Tamya Cox. “Ward Connerly’s so-called ‘American Civil Rights Institute’ has consistently co-opted the language of the Civil Rights Movement and employed other fraudulent tactics to trick voters into dismantling equal opportunity programs in California, Michigan and Washington. Now Connerly has set his sights on Oklahoma and four other states. Affirmative action is critical to ensuring equality of opportunity for all Oklahomans, and we should not allow out-of-state interests to roll back the principles of fairness and justice we hold dear.”

More information on the national ACLU’s work on affirmative action is available online at: www.aclu.org/racialjustice/aa/index.html