Katrina Survivors to Rally for Early Voting



On April 10th, displaced Katrina survivors who are living in Houston and San Antonio will travel by bus to Lake Charles to cast their ballots on the first day of Early Voting. Displaced residents living in Atlanta and Jackson will travel to New Orleans to do the same. The ACORN Katrina Survivors Association is organizing these bus trips and others to ensure that New Orleans residents have the opportunity to take part in this important election. Many people do not trust the absentee ballot process, which can be confusing and unreliable. New Orleans residents want to return home to vote to show they are committed to returning and having a voice in the rebuilding process.

"Although typically 80,000 New Orleanians vote in the mayoral election, ACORN is very concerned that the lack of contact with the displaced electorate, both about news concerning the election as well as voting information. More effort needs to be made to notify voters in the diaspora that there IS an election and that ACORN is willing to help provide voter information and help with absentee balloting or rides to the polls," stated Beulah Labostrie, President of Louisiana ACORN.

After casting their ballots on April 10th, New Orleans residents who traveled by bus to Lake Charles will hold a rally at 1:30 PM on the Courthouse steps to celebrate their participation in the election and send the message that they will not let their voices be left out of the rebuilding of their city. Those traveling to New Orleans will gather in front of City Hall, also at 1:30 PM.

Members of the ACORN Katrina Survivors Association in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Little Rock, and Atlanta are carrying out a massive voter outreach, education, and mobilization campaign. Active Katrina survivors as well as staff are going door to door in apartment buildings, setting up tables at locations where numbers of New Orleans Katrina survivors are expected, phone banking our ever-growing database of survivors out of New Orleans, and hitting the airwaves to remind people to request an absentee ballot and/or get on the ACORN buses to Early Vote in Louisiana.





Katrina Survivors to Rally for Early Voting