SAN FRANCISCO - The ACLU of Southern California and the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California filed a federal lawsuit in Los Angeles today charging that the use of outdated and obsolete "punch card" voting machines, the same machines at the center of the controversy surrounding the contested 2000 presidential election in Florida, will needlessly and unlawfully disenfranchise African-American, Latino, and Asian-American voters in counties where such machines are still in use.

Following the contested presidential election of 2000, the ACLU-SC and the ACLU-NC filed suit against the state of California, claiming that use of punch card machines in some counties violated the constitutional principle of equal protection and the Voting Rights Act. The state entered into a consent decree, whereby it agreed to replace all "punch card" voting machines in use by the March 2004 primary election.

"The ACLU of Northern California takes no position on the Governor's recall," said Dorothy Ehrlich, executive director of the ACLU-NC. "Our interest is in seeing to it that every voter will have his or her vote counted accurately. Especially in this election, with Proposition 54 on the ballot-an initiative that threatens the health, safety and civil rights of every Californian--it is more crucial that communities of color have their say. If we do not fix this problem, that will be impossible."

The suit asks the court to delay the election until March 2004, when all counties will have more reliable voting technology.

As many as 8 million voters could be at the mercy of the defective "VotoMatic" or "Pollstar" machines. At least six counties in the state (Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Santa Clara, Solano, and Mendocino) are certain to use "punch card" voting machines if the election takes place on October 7, 2003.

In the November 2000 presidential election, the error rate for the "punch card" machines was more than double that of any other system used in the state. "Votomatic" or "Pollstar" machines accounted for 74.8% of all ballots cast that did not register a vote for president in California.

"If the October election goes forward, we can predict with absolute certainty that every Californian's vote will not count," said Margaret Crosby, staff attorney of the ACLU-NC. "Democracy in California should not hang by a chad."

The ACLU of San Diego also joined the lawsuit.