Voters to decide race-related issue
Posted: Saturday, October 18, 2008
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- The most contentious, even bitter, election race in the state is being propelled by something more divisive than two candidates who don't like each other: race.
If opponents of affirmative action get their way, Nebraska will join just three other states that bar the practice meant to help minorities get a foothold in a mostly white society.
The ballot measure pushed by former University of California regent Ward Connerly never uses the phrase affirmative action. But it would prohibit state and local governments from giving preferential treatment to people on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity or national origin.
Supporters say the measure levels the playing field, giving everyone an equal chance at every job, and that most people support the measure and want the chance to vote on it. Rather than helping minorities, they say affirmative action reinforces the perception they are second-class citizens who need help to succeed.
Opponents of the measure say it plays to people's fears that unqualified minorities are being picked over qualified non-minorities. Affirmative action, they say, ensures good-faith efforts to recruit minority candidates and keep people accountable for their hiring decisions.
A telephone poll of about 1,000 likely voters in October by Quinnipiac University indicated that a similar measure on ballots in Colorado, the only other state where there will be a vote on affirmative action, would pass by a wide margin. Similar polling has not been conducted in Nebraska.
Both sides have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into their respective campaigns in Nebraska, with some of the money used on negative campaign ads. The rhetoric from both sides has been heated.
Campaign finance reports show that the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative, which is sponsoring the proposed ban on most types of affirmative action, has raised $644,000 and spent $634,000.
Nebraskans United, the group opposing the ban, has raised $392,000 and spent $380,000.
They've filed a lawsuit in Lancaster County District Court challenging signatures' validity because of a "pattern of fraud and illegality." If successful, the lawsuit won't keep the measure off the ballot but it could keep votes from being counted.
Connerly tried but failed to get an affirmative action ban on ballots in Arizona and Oklahoma this year.
Bans have passed in California, Michigan and Washington.
On the Net:
Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative: www.nebraskacri.org
Nebraskans United: www.nebraskansunited.org
If opponents of affirmative action get their way, Nebraska will join just three other states that bar the practice meant to help minorities get a foothold in a mostly white society.
The ballot measure pushed by former University of California regent Ward Connerly never uses the phrase affirmative action. But it would prohibit state and local governments from giving preferential treatment to people on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity or national origin.
Supporters say the measure levels the playing field, giving everyone an equal chance at every job, and that most people support the measure and want the chance to vote on it. Rather than helping minorities, they say affirmative action reinforces the perception they are second-class citizens who need help to succeed.
Opponents of the measure say it plays to people's fears that unqualified minorities are being picked over qualified non-minorities. Affirmative action, they say, ensures good-faith efforts to recruit minority candidates and keep people accountable for their hiring decisions.
A telephone poll of about 1,000 likely voters in October by Quinnipiac University indicated that a similar measure on ballots in Colorado, the only other state where there will be a vote on affirmative action, would pass by a wide margin. Similar polling has not been conducted in Nebraska.
Both sides have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into their respective campaigns in Nebraska, with some of the money used on negative campaign ads. The rhetoric from both sides has been heated.
Campaign finance reports show that the Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative, which is sponsoring the proposed ban on most types of affirmative action, has raised $644,000 and spent $634,000.
Nebraskans United, the group opposing the ban, has raised $392,000 and spent $380,000.
They've filed a lawsuit in Lancaster County District Court challenging signatures' validity because of a "pattern of fraud and illegality." If successful, the lawsuit won't keep the measure off the ballot but it could keep votes from being counted.
Connerly tried but failed to get an affirmative action ban on ballots in Arizona and Oklahoma this year.
Bans have passed in California, Michigan and Washington.
On the Net:
Nebraska Civil Rights Initiative: www.nebraskacri.org
Nebraskans United: www.nebraskansunited.org
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