Jackson Urges Nationwide Protests

Dec. 12 -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson is predicting massive nationwide civil rights protests if the U.S. Supreme Court rules for Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush in his case to end manual vote recounts in Florida.

Jackson on Monday called for rallies in front of local courthouses to urge the U.S. Supreme Court to let Florida election officials finish the recount, which was ordered Friday by Florida’s Supreme Court, but suspended by the federal court Saturday.

Hundreds of Democratic supporters staged rallies in cities around the country, including Atlanta, Boston, Hartford, Conn., Miami and Sacramento, Calif., the Associated Press reported.

Dozens of members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) joined protests in South Florida, the center of the controversy, arriving in charteredbuses from as far away as California and from 16 other states, AP reported.

NAACP President Kweisi Mfume has said the organization is scheduling several rallies this week in unspecified cities around the country.

Jackson, who attended the high court’s hearing of oral arguments Monday, said the integrity of America’s democracy was on trial and suggested there would be more massive nationwide protests in the event the justices overturned the Florida court’s order for manual recounts.

“I hope they will put forth that commitment to affirm the right of the vote to count,” said Jackson. “If they don’t, they will see a massive civil rights explosion, people marching all over the nation.”

What’s At Stake

The Supreme Court’s ruling, expected as soon as today, could likely decide whether Democratic candidate Al Gore or Republican candidate George W. Bush receives Florida’s 25 electoral votes and most likely the presidency.

Bush lawyers argue the recount ordered by the Florida high court was illegal and unconstitutional. Jackson, like the Gore team, argues what’s at stake is the right of voters to have their ballots counted.