Cincinnati NAACP President Christopher Smitherman is camping out in front of the Hamilton County Board of Elections (824 Broadway downtown Cincinnati) Monday night September 29, 2008.   When the polls open at 8am on Tuesday, September 30, 2008, the Cincinnati NAACP will be there to vote. 

The Board of Elections opens at 8:00am-4pm on September 30, 2008 and citizens of Hamilton County can begin to vote for President of the United States of America as well for local candidates and local issues.  The Cincinnati NAACP wants to raise awareness that early voting begins Tuesday, September 30, 2008. The Cincinnati NAACP encourages our members to vote YES on 5, NO on 6, YES on 7 and YES on 8.

The Cincinnati NAACP encourages and welcomes any Hamilton County resident to join Smitherman tonight, September 29, 2008, at the Hamilton County Board of Elections (824 Broadway downtown Cincinnati).  Those who come tonight to the Board of Elections be sure to bring your identification (so that you can vote on September 30th), a blanket and dress warm.

Please fell free to e-mail President Smitherman at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and encourage him in this effort and let him know of your questions or comments regarding early voting.

Cincinnati NAACP President Christopher Smitherman will camp out in front of the Hamilton County Board of Elections (824 Broadway downtown Cincinnati) Monday night September 29, 2008. The Board of Elections opens at 8:00am on September 30, 2008 and citizens of Hamilton County can begin to vote for President of the United States of America as well for local candidates and local issues.  The Cincinnati NAACP wants to raise awareness that early voting begins Tuesday, September 30, 2008. The Cincinnati NAACP encourages our members to vote YES on 5, NO on 6, YES on 7 and YES on 8.

The Cincinnati NAACP directs you to their web site(www.naacpcincinnati.org) to get updates on the sleep over tonight. When the polls open at 8am the Cincinnati NAACP will be there to vote.   The Cincinnati NAACP encourages and welcomes any Hamilton County resident to join Smitherman tonight at 824 Broadway downtown. Those who come tonight to the Board of Elections be sure to bring your identification, a blanket and dress warm.

In response to the Courier's endorsement of Issue 8 (Proportional Representation),  Councilman Jeff Berding wrote a response in this week's Business Courier calling the ballot issue for Proportional Representation (PR) un-American. He wrote that extremists will be elected if Proportional Representation (Issue 8) wins.  He also insinuated that Proportional Representation is not democracy.  Berding has a history of misleading our community for his own personal gain; not just the African American community.  Berding has misled City and County residents as well. 

There's nothing more American--nothing more democratic--than to go out and collect 15,000 signatures to put any issue, including Proportional Representation, on the ballot. There is nothing more insulting that Berding could say about the Cincinnati NAACP members than to use code words to describe the members' actions as un-American and undemocratic.  He is simply spewing fear to the white readers of the Courier.  Who do you think he is talking about when he used the term "extremists"?  Proportional Representation allows 10% of voters to earn a seat at the table.  Berding doesn't want to hear from those voices. 

At the September 25, 2008 General Membership meeting, Cincinnati NAACP voted on the position it will take on three issues that will be on the ballot starting September 30, 2008:

----YES on Issue #2 (Clean Ohio Program):    

The membership voted to endorse Issue 2 at the October 23 membership meeting. 

----YES on Issue #5 (Payday Lending): 

Yes on 5 would approve section 3 of H.B. 545 limiting the interest rate charged by payday lending institutions.

----NO on Issue #6 (Casino in Ohio at Wilmington): 

A NO vote means you disapprove of amending  the Ohio Constitution to permit one casino near Wilmington in southwest Ohio. 

The Cincinnati NAACP urges you to vote:

--YES on Issue 7 to ban Red Light Cameras from coming to the City of Cincinnati and a

--YES on Issue 8 to bring back Proportional Representation (The Cincinnati Method) for the City Council Election.