You are ALL welcome to join us in solidarity with our Brothers and Sisters in the Arab American community. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: David Knezek, current State Representative and Candidate for the State Senate District 5 -- 313-854-0161 Rasheed Baydoun, Candidate for the Michigan House District 11 – 313- 452-4599 Tony Trupiano, Candidate for the Michigan House District 13 -- 313-820-6432 Tuesday, July 29, 2014 Protest/Rally Planned at Dearborn Heights City Council Meeting This Evening: City Clerk Rescinds Resignation even after Accusation of Voter Suppression to Arab American Community Dearborn Heights –– Troubled Dearborn Heights City Clerk, Walter J. Prusiewicz, after stating in his resignation letter that, ...Very recent events have finally convinced me that I will never be accepted as the Clerk and this job will never get any better. I had so many plans and hopes for the office and the city, but I now know that these hopes are all in vain. He goes on to cite a list of four reasons, including a work environment of drama and conflict, in which several of the clerical staff at city hall do not speak to me and bad mouth me at every opportunity. According to the Michigan Radio website. Also, according to Michigan Radio, Fatina Abdrabboh, the legal director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Michigan, says the complaints range from being told that the clerk’s office didnt have to provide them a ballot, or that the ballots would be sent out at the clerks discretion...while others say their ballots just didnt arrive in the mail. And with the August 5th primaries coming up, one tip led to the next, and it became apparent to Arab American citizens that they had not received their ballots in the mail,” says Abdrabboh. The committee has asked the states Attorney General or another third party, like the FBI, to investigate. Up to 200 people* will gather this evening at Dearborn Heights City Hall at 6:30 PM to speak at tonight’s meeting and to demonstrate their concern and frustration for a voting right, absentee voting, that is being disrespected and seemingly targeting one ethnic community. Clearly, as a voter registration efforts in Dearborn Heights, to reach out to the Arab American community, has been met with suspicion by the City Clerk’s office without and real explanation or justification and those who are behind the registering effort corrected the one thing the Clerk’s office demanded – signed absentee ballot forms – which were honored to the letter of the law, yet many applicants still have not received ballots nor are they being given a reason for the delay at this point. According to Prusiewicz, Last week two batches of several hundred absentee ballot applications were dropped off at my office while I was not in the front office to receive them. None of them were signed as required by law by the person dropping them off and the office staff did not get the persons name who brought them in. As also required by law, I reported this to the state and asked for their guidance. I was told to hold off issuing the ballots until a determination could be made. I received a call back and was informed to issue them since we did accept them unsigned, but to not accept any more unsigned in the future and to ask anyone dropping off bulk applications for their identification... Yet, many potential voters still do not have ballots with many of them traveling next week and they will not be available to vote in person. In past election cycles Ramadan, a High Holy Holiday celebrated in the Muslim community, fell during the Primary election, and during the holiday devout Muslims are not allowed to travel, making them available to vote in person. This year, as Ramadan ended before the Primary, many thousands of Muslims will be traveling next week mandating the increase in absentee voter applications, along with the efforts to register more Arab Americans voters. Voter registration drives during an election are common among many constituencies during an election cycle, so the questioning by the Clerk’s office in Dearborn Heights has raised the awareness of a community that continues to be prejudiced against, and this is just another example of that prejudice, according to the three of the candidates who are running in parts of Dearborn Heights, David Knezek, Rasheed Baydoun and Tony Trupiano. All will be present at tonight’s City Council meeting and protest. All three candidates agree that an investigation needs to be commenced by the City and the State and that the truth as to why some registered voters are not being treated equally to their neighbors. Not only does the Arab American community deserve answers and access to the Democratic right to vote, anyone who believes in Democracy should stand shoulder to shoulder with your fellow Americans and demand that this situation be rectified immediately. It is important to note that any complaints outside of the Arab American community about not receiving their absentee ballots is unknown at this time and no one or any other voting block has stepped up to express concern that they didn’t receive their ballots in person or in the mail. If interested in either attending this protest or covering it, the address for Dearborn Heights City Hall is 6045 Fenton St, Dearborn Heights, MI 48127. The meeting starts at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, July 29, 2014. * The 200 people is an estimate and may grow to many more before this evening as people of varied backgrounds and ethic types are learning of this alleged suppression and expressing their concern and support of the Arab American community and are concerned that the voting process has been poisoned in Dearborn Heights. Please contact any of the candidates named above. Knezek can be reached at 313-854-0161; Baydoun at 313-452-4599; and Trupiano at 313-820-6432.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 10:47:15 +0000
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