In 2000, George W. Bush was declared the winner over Al Gore after more than a month of recounting Florida's disputed ballots. In 2004, it took a day to determine that Bush had defeated John Kerry, after Kerry decided not to dispute Bush's win in Ohio despite Democrats' belief that voting in Ohio had not proceeded fairly.
Sharpton, a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2004, came to Philly yesterday as part of his National Action Network's "Not This Time" campaign.
He was joined by City Council members Jannie Blackwell and Curtis Jones Jr., along with Nation of Islam Minister Rodney Muhammad, in urging youths and those unregistered to get involved in the political process.
"You can't support anything without being registered to vote," said Sharpton, 53. He noted that 36 percent of eligible African-American voters in Pennsylvania are not registered to vote, implying that the election could hinge on whether those individuals vote.
"Voting in this election will affect their very lives; this election is very crucial," Sharpton said.
The crowd included more than 150 students from the Walter D. Palmer Leadership Learning Partners Charter School, who had arrived in at least five buses.
"What caught us by surprise in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 is that we didn't know the discrepancies until they got to the polls that day," Sharpton said. "We need to work through all that now, and that's why we're here."
Sharpton said that he supports Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, but said that his network is bipartisan and its mission is to educate and empower voters.
Sharpton said that it would behoove both Obama and Republican candidate John McCain to listen to young people.
"I think that in order to appeal to the voters, you need to know what the young people are concerned about," Sharpton said. "And I think young people have to come out and vote. But the people only come out when their issues are being addressed.
"Unless these candidates talk about those issues, it won't inspire turnout." *
- Damon C. Williams
