ALTIMORE - A lengthy report documenting assertions that blacks and others were denied the right to vote in Florida's presidential election will be turned over to the Justice Department next week, the NAACP said yesterday.
The report will contain testimony from 20 witnesses who said at a hearing of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People that they had been prevented from voting by election staff, questioned by police, or subjected to other irregularities.
Civil rights activists say thousands of voters may have been affected. Black voters generally supported Democrat Al Gore.
The civil rights organization conducted a public hearing in Miami on Saturday and continued to take closed-door testimony as late as Tuesday.
The NAACP called on Attorney General Janet Reno to investigate reports of irregularities last week, saying there was evidence that authorities violated the constitutional rights of voters. Its call has since been echoed by lawmakers from the Congressional Black Caucus.
''The information we garnered at the hearing is being transcribed into a report that will be handed over to the Justice Department next week,'' said NAACP spokeswoman Jean Ross. ''Then it's up to them to determine whether there have been civil rights or Voting Rights Act violations.''
The group's president, Kweisi Mfume, and other top officials have criticized the Justice Department and accused it of failing to take the initiative in addressing reports of wrongdoing.
REUTERS
