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The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) sent a letter to the Iberia Parish, Louisiana Council, urging members to reverse the eight recent polling place closures, and support the addition of an early voting site in Iberia Parish for the remaining 2021 elections. These polling place closures would burden voters ahead of the November 13, 2021 election to vote on amendments to the Louisiana Constitution and local offices, including City Marshal for New Iberia City Court. Nearly every polling place that will be closed is located in a predominantly Black neighborhood. In fact, only three of the eight closed locations are not in a predominantly Black neighborhood. 

LDF joined partners including A New Chapter Push Ministries, Little Zorah Baptist Church, League of Women Voters Louisiana, ACLU of Louisiana, Campaign Legal Center, and Black Voters Matter Louisiana to call for the Council to provide an explanation for these changes and assurance that poll site locations will be restored to allow equal voting access, especially for Black voters most impacted by these consolidations and closures.

LDF and partners urged the Council to take the following steps to ensure effective notice to voters of the closures and new polling place assignments: 

  • Provide at least three notices to voters about their changed polling place and the changed election date to November 13, 2021; 
  • Engage media outlets to inform voters, including KATC, The Daily Iberian, The Advocate, and other local outlets to report on these polling location changes; 
  • Use geofenced social media ads to encourage voters to confirm their voting location through the Secretary of State’s GeauxVote.com site or GeauxVote app; 
  • Ensure that the websites of the Parish Council, Clerk of Court, and Registrar of Voters each prominently display a list of the closed or consolidated polling places with clear instructions of where voters can confirm their correct voting location (e.g., GeauxVote.com), make available maps displaying the new locations, and provide confirmation that these changes in polling locations will be temporary; 
  • Ensure that there is clear signage at each polling location indicating where the precinct has been relocated or consolidated; 
  • Partner with community leaders to ensure that information regarding temporary polling place changes is broadly and effectively communicated; 
  • Engage community members in full consultation before the Council makes further polling place changes or selections for the 2022 and future elections; 
  • Explore opportunities to add an additional early voting site for the upcoming and future elections.

Read the full letter here.

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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.

Follow LDF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

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