The 1990 Campaign; Judge Assails G.O.P. Mailing in Carolina News Article from The New York Times

    GRApHIC: AP Photos-l) Democrat Harvey Gantt speaks to voters in Raleigh, N.C. 2)
Jesse Helms bears with the campaign in Charlotte (p 15 C)

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Copyright (c) 1-990 The New York Times Company
The New York Ti-mes

November 6, 1990, Tuesday, Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section B; Page 9i Co1umn 4i National Desk

LENGTHz 97L WOrdS

HEADLINE: THE ].990 CAIIIPAIGN;
Judge Assails G.O.P. Mailing in Carolina

BYLINE: By B. DRUUI{OND AYRES Jr., Special to The New York Times

DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 5

BODY:
A Federal judge said today in New Jersey that nailings by North Carolina's

Republican Party in the final days of the racially tinged Senate.contest
appeared to violate a court order he issued eiglt years ago prohibiting the
nlluffican National Committee from improperly singling out and intimidating
minority voters.
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(c) L99O The New York Times, November 5, l-990

But the judge, Dickenson Debevoise of the Federal District Court in Newark,
told the complainants, the Democratic National Committee, that he could take no
action because the apparent violation did not faII within his jurisdiction.
Although the decree applies to all parts of the country, he said there was no
concluiive proof that the national Republican party was responsible for the
acti-vities in North Carolina.

l-50 , O0O Postcards

Ehe state Republican Party program involved rnailing l5OrOOO postcards
regarding voting regulations, with many of the cards apparently sent to
reiidences in hiavily black precincts that are normally Democratic strongholds.
Judge Debevoise, who was nominated to the Federal bench in L979 by President
tinny Carter, suggrested that the Democratic Party seek 1egaI relief from the
ballot program in North Carolina.

Democratic officials here bitterly criticized the effort as a desperation
political move by Senator Jesse He1ms, a Republican who faces a strong
re- election challenge in Tuesday's voting from a black Democrat, Harvey
Gantt.

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(c) 1990 The New York Times, November 6, 7990

National Republican officials also criticized the effort, calling it
Itcounterproductive.rr State Republican officals here said they would have no
comment on the judge's remarks.

U.S. Is Sending Team

fn Washington, the Justj-ce Departrnent said today that i-t was sending a team
of lawyers to North Carolina to insure that rninority voters were not
aisquatified from voting based on information gathered by the state Republican
Party.

Assistant Attorney ceneral John R. Dunne was quoted by The Associated Press
as saying the state party had pledged not to use any information it obtained
from posicaras returned. as unclaimed. to challenge the eligibility of voters at
the polls on TuesdaY.

Democratic officials said there was not enough time before the polls open on
Tuesday for a local 1ega1 challenge of the nailing effort.

The postcards warned that residency reguirements were strict and vote fraud
was punishable by imPrisonment.

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(c) 1990 The New York Times, November 6, 1990

Black votes are expected to be crucial in the Senate race, which has been
marked by considerable raciat polarization and which voter surveys indicate is a
toss-up. Blacks account for about 20 percent of the electorate.

In the court action today in Newark, Iawyers for the Democratic National
Committee sought to reopen a 1-982 case handled by Judge Debevoise in which the
Republican Natj-onal Committee pledged that it would not engage in tactics that
couta intirnidate Democratic voters anywhere in the country. The case stemmed
from a suit in which the New Jersey Repubtican Party also was a defendant.

RuIing From New JerseY Race

In the L982 case, Democrats contended that a Republican rrballot securityrr
task force might have frightened away enough legitimate voters to have
infl-uenced the outcome of the 1981 New Jersey grovernor's race, which Thomas H.
Kean, the Republican, won by fewer than L,7OO votes over his Democratic
opponent, James J. Florio.

fn ruling today on the latest Democratic complai-nt, Judge Debevoise
criticized the Republican National Committee as failing to do enough to i-nsure
that the partyrs efforts to deter voter fraud did not become an effort to
intimidate minority voters.
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(c) 1990 The New York Times, November 6, l-990

And while he went on to say that the North Carolina effort appeared to be a
viol-ation of his court order, h€ saj-d he found no conclusive proof that the
Republican National Cornmittee could ttbe seen to be involved directly or
indirectly in the activity taking pJ-ace in North Carolina.rl

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