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Jet, Dec 25, 2000

Florida residents who believe they were denied their right to vote in the recent presidential election because of discrimination, fraud or other illegal practices flees will get a chance to testify next year before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

The commission voted unanimously to convene hearings in Florida and possibly other states on whether voters' rights were violated, though the hearings will come too late to affect the presidential race between Vice President Al Gore and George W. Bush.

Mary Frances Berry, chairperson, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, said, "We want to have a total, systematic look at what happened in Florida because voting is so important. The enormity of the number of inequities is astounding."

Berry also will determine whether there is a need for hearings in other states, based on a staff report outlining voters' complaints from around the country.

The commission is an independent, bipartisan fact-finding agency that investigates complaints of voters alleging they are being deprived of their fights because of race, color, religion sex, disability, national origin or because of fraud.