On Tuesday, Rev Jesse Jackson will headline a rally in Tampa to protest a new Florida election law Republicans say is intended to cut costs and prevent fraud, but that Democrats and civil rights organizations say is aimed at suppressing voter turnout to improve Republican 2012 election chances.

The goal is to rouse citizen opposition to convince the U. S. Department of Justice to overturn the law, said Rev. Charles McKenzie, a local NAACP official and state coordinator for Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

Rev. Jackson will appear Tuesday, July 26th at 2 p. m. at the 34th Street Church of God, whose pastor is Tom Scott, former Tampa City Council member, Hillsborough County Commissioner and mayoral candidate. There will be a community leadership meeting beforehand.[private]

Opponents of the law in last spring’s legislative session said its GOP backers produced no evidence of the widespread fraud it’s supposed to combat. Noting similar restrictions passed in other states, critics say it’s part of a nationwide attempt to inhibit turnout of pro-Barack Obama voters in 2012.

According to Rev. McKenzie, it’s “an effort on the part of politicians in 34 states to reduce the participation of minority and Democratic-leaning voters.”

The law decreased the number of days of early voting, popular among minority voters; makes it harder for voters who move to change their addresses at the polls, which critics say will affect Democratic-leaning young and minority voters; and imposes new restrictions on volunteer groups’ registration drives.

Groups including the League of Women Voters have announced they were suspending voter registration efforts unless the law is overturned.[/private]