Although the decades-old commission lacks authority to impose sanctions, it can recommend action by the U.S. Justice Department or other agencies. In Florida, in an inquiry that opened with hearings in Tallahassee two weeks ago and should produce a report by summer, the commission is examining complaints that black voters were intimidated or black votes were left uncounted. Berry said in an interview with The Herald last week. The commission has faced its own dissension from within. That executive order replaced affirmative action with guaranteed admission to state universities for the top one-fifth of high school students.
Republicans are wary about the commission's work.
The commission was created under the Civil Rights Act of 1957 to investigate complaints of voting rights denied because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin or disabilities. It has subpoena power and staff investigators. Three staff attorneys explored complaints in Florida before the commission voted in December to investigate. In the 1980s, President Reagan relied on it to advance his own agenda. Its executive director under Reagan, Linda Chavez, was an outspoken critic of affirmative action.