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From The Michiglln Orronicle
A federal lawsuit charging the tate
of . chigan with erecting "restrictive
and unconstitutional barriers" which
inhibit oter registration and the lection
of deputy registrar as rued last onday
in federal court in Flint.
Four individuals, and 10 organizations,
including the ational and Flint branch
of th AACP, are plaintiff: in the c
hearing . I be h ld in t 0 wee s
to determin hether there j cau
of ction.
Howard Simon, Michigan ACLU ex­
ecuti e director, allege that ·chigan's
voter registr tion y ern arbitrary
and varie so much among the 1,500
city, municipal and township clerks
hich dminister it that it is discimina­
tory.
Attorney for the American Civil
libertie Union (ACLU) and the Detroit
branch of the ational Lawyers Guild
are eking an injuction to enjoin and
prohibit the st te from allowing th
local official from applying alleged
tot lIy arbitrary criteria to the deputy
registrar program.
The im ct of the lawsuit, Sim n
hope • will be measured by an incre·
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in voter registration tewide, but
particularly in Detroit. According to
figuxes provided by the ichigan Human
Service office, a nationwide voter regis­
tration project, there are 238,000 eligible
unregistered voters in Detroit. In ayne
and Oakland County tiler are 469,000
unregistered voter and throughout the
tate and the total i 1,100,000.
"People may think that we are a
liberal state, but a lot of the procedures
in the tate of Michigan are not the
different from the Jim Cro pro ures
in a lot of other part of the country
which limit the number of voters, t,
charged Simon.
Local oppo ition to the restrictive
practice as evidenced by an informa­
tional picket held la week at th city of
Detroit Election Commi . on office in
which about 70 demon r tors repre ent­
ing almo t two dozen communityorgani­
zations took part. Joining the supporters
w Winsto Lang executive director of
the Detroit Branch AACP. Lang
urged the voting right demonstrator
to wor for full voter regi tration in
Detroit and throughout the tate at
"all time of the day and night to show
the peopl of this tate that thi is a
demon trativc den crucy in action."
AACP,oth
ta k" on sta
The picketer were distre d over the
city's Election Comrni ion pr ctice of
shutting down the deputy registrar
application proce on June 22 and its
. refusal to allow d puty registrars to
collect registration during the 30 day
prohibition period before a primary
and general election.
Defending the current practice was
I Azzouz,' . nt director of the city
Election Commission. "The ccount­
ability factor I ery important to u ,"
he id. ' e will not allo anyone to
register voter within the 30 day period
before each election, except at our office
or at th Michigan Secretary of State's
office." Azzouz could not explain how
or why thi practice differed from allow­
ing the continued registration of voters
by deputy registrar ince in both c
th regi tered voters would still b unable
to vote in that upcoming eJection.
''The pi ket i unique in Detroit,
a city which ha fierce pride in th effort
and ccompJishment of Ro Park ,
the mother of th civil rigl ts movement,"
id Ro anne Handler, coordinator of
the ichi 'an Human Service campaign.
"Thi city i practicing Jim Cr wism,"
added Mr . Handler.
• I disaurec wit h t hOlt im gc." r . I md-
ed Azzouz. ' e don't have to re ct to
the picket. I don't feel that they raised
legitimate i Ue5."
Three day after the picket. Jam H.
Bradley, chairman of the city E ction
Commission, announced an emergency
voter regi tration dri e for the 1 t e k
of eligib registration for th August
primary.
Simon beli ve that this a tion a .
direct result of the demonstration.
"There i no other ay to vi
id Simon. An effort like that
that,"
ould
have been announced much m re in
advance than three day fter the d -
monstration, The f ct that th y e
doing that is a sign that th Y reco nize
the probl m. Th yare going to ndin
ut clerks to pl c here e b li e
deputy regi trar ha right t be
going out to in the first place. '
Re ognizing th nation 1 prob m of
v ter regi tration, Congre man John
Conyer introduced HR58I5 on J un 11.
This bill, according to Cedric H ndri cs.
:1 I islativ i rant to Conye .' ill
attac reei trati It barri rs hich ha
precluded Black fr m being r gi tcred
cro ss th countr and v ill-appl to all
'd ral ctiom ."