Minority voters 'intimidated' in Florida

A black Dominican-American carrying pro-Bush signs was beaten with a
baseball bat near a polling place in Miami by voters opposed to the
Republican presidential candidate, says a well-known Haitian-American
pastor.

The beaten man came to Rev. Phipps St. Hilaire of Christian Churches
United in Miami-Dade County, showing the pastor his bruises. He was
struck on the head with the bat, noted Phipps, who related the victim's
experience.

The victim, a Republican voter, was holding a picture of Gov. George
W. Bush when an angry bystander approached, telling the Republican to
get the picture out of sight. When the Republican refused, the agitated
bystander went to his car, took out a baseball bat and began hitting the
Bush supporter in the head, according to St. Hilaire.

"It's really unbelievable," St. Hilaire reflected. "To me, it's
still a dream, but it's a reality too, because some people have
suffered."

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The pastor said he received dozens of complaints from Haitian- and
Dominican-Americans who claim they were blocked from the polls. Of
those who complained, two or three were physically beaten, he said.

Tony Welch, spokesman for the

Florida Democratic Party, said he has heard no complaints of physical intimidation in the state. However, he said if incidents like the baseball bat beating occurred, "I hope there are some arrests made."

Fox News reported complaints that Democratic campaign workers for Vice President Al Gore and state Representative Philip Brutus unfairly and illegally violated the 50-foot rule around some precincts in Miami's Little Haiti. The rule prohibits campaign workers from interfering with voters' access to the polls or trying to pressure them.

Some campaign volunteers actually entered the precincts, St. Hilaire told Fox, telling voters what holes to punch and forcing sheets of paper into their hands with the numbers to punch listed on them.

Pauline Charles, a campaign worker for Brutus's opponent, Republican Reggie Thompson, said she saw volunteers helping voters fill out their ballots.

"I heard him tell him, 'Say no to all of this, punch this number and make sure you vote for Gore. Punch number 85, I mean 86 for Brutus.' And you know, giving them exact numbers to the point where he had it written down on a piece of paper just in case they got confused, and they'd take the piece of paper and punch in the numbers," Charles told Fox.

Eventually, Thompson volunteers called the police, and election officials removed the political partisans from the voting area. But critics say countless Haitian voters at several precincts were unfairly influenced to vote for a straight Democratic ticket.

"It went beyond intimidation," St. Hilaire told WorldNetDaily. Some minority voters had bottles of water thrown at them, he added. "That is communism, taking over our freedom," he continued. "Some [of the victims] say they didn't believe what they [saw], like they were in Russia or Haiti."

The pastor and political activist said he will begin concentrating on educating minority voters after the current election fiasco dies down.

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"Since we had a good deal of violence in our own country, [I will] educate them so they do not get taken advantage of," St. Hilaire said.

African-American voters make up 15 percent of the electorate in Florida, 93 percent of which supported Gore on Nov. 7. Bill Clinton received 86 percent in 1996. More than 100,000 Haitians live in Miami-Dade County, many of them in Little Haiti. Most are new to America and unfamiliar with the U.S. election process.

St. Hilaire said he believes only a small number of people are "causing problems," yet they have captured the attention of the world and caused people to question America's system of government.

"I believe in God. I believe in the American system of justice. I believe that justice shall prevail no matter what other people try to do to the system," St. Hilaire remarked. "It cannot be lost. Our forefathers shed their blood for it."

"I still believe this nation is a leader," he said, even though "some people are trying to degrade our nation."

In the meantime, the Florida pastor, who came to the United States 30 years ago, is encouraging media to report on voter intimidation in his state.

"The media here really has to write the truth. You cannot let it go," he urged. "Let us keep telling the truth. Let's keep writing the truth so those who read it can be set free."