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Voting Rights Act Reauthorization

Every Member Material - September 2006

 


 

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the culmination of numerous efforts to create an effective remedy for discriminatory voting practices.  The Act as amended is intended to prevent government officials and private citizens from interfering with the rights of minority citizens to register and to vote.  It contains permanent provisions and special provisions.  The permanent provisions of the Act protect the right of minorities throughout the nation.  The special provisions offer added protection to minorities in those jurisdictions where discrimination in voting has been the most blatant and pervasive. 

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965.

History of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

  • In March, 1965, African Americans marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama to protest the unfair and racist practices that kept them off the voter rolls.
  • When the marchers reached the far side of the bridge, they were met by state troopers and a civilian posse bearing tear gas, billy clubs and whips.  This group brutally attacked the peacefully protesting men, women and children.
  • One week after the Selma incident, President Johnson announced that he planned to submit legislation that would bring African Americans into the civic life of our nation.
  • Five months after Selma, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law.
  • Since initial passage, the VRA has been renewed five times by bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate and signed by four Republican presidents.
  • President George W. Bush is our most recent president to sign the Act on July 27th, 2006.

The League of Women Voters’ Participation

The League has a long history of support for the Voting Rights Act.  The League lobbied extensively for the 1970 amendments to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  In 1975 the League was part of a successful coalition effort to extend the Act and expand its coverage to language minorities, and in 1982 the League was a leader in the fight to strengthen the Act and extend its major provision for 25 years.  Key provisions of the Voting Rights Act were scheduled to expire in 2007 and the League has lobbied this past summer to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act with no deletions.  This was evident to all of us that received frequent internet notices from the National League to contact our legislators to vote affirmatively for the reauthorization.  Renewal of the VRA is not just a minority issue but an issue for all who care deeply about preserving American democracy and ensuring equal access to the electoral process.

Colorado Senators and Representatives’ Voting Record on Reauthorization

The reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act was voted on in the House of Representatives in July of 2006.  An amendment to the Act would have taken out the bilingual ballot requirement that mandates bilingual ballots in districts where voters have limited ability to read English.  Representatives Tom Tancredo, Bob Beauprez, Joel Hefley and Marilyn Musgrave voted for this amendment but it failed to pass. 

The vote for the Act was then passed 390 to 33.  At this time Rep. Beauprez and Rep Musgrave joined the majority.

Rep. Tancredo was quoted as saying “If you’re voting, you’re supposed to be a U.S. citizen and you’re supposed to be proficient in English.”

The Senate then passed the bill 98-0 and both Senator Allard and Senator Salazar joined the majority on this vote.

The Voting Rights Act Reauthorization extends the VRA for 25 years.

  • This reauthorization includes the prohibition against the use of tests or devices to deny the right to vote in any Federal, State or local election: and
  • The requirement for certain states and local governments to provide voting materials in multiple languages.

The New Law also Amends the VRA with Regard to:

  • The use of election examiners and observers;
  • Voting qualifications or standards intended to diminish the ability of U.S. citizens on account of race or color to elect preferred candidates.

One result of the Voting Rights Act has been a large increase in the number of elected officials of color and from minority backgrounds.

Since the founding of the League of Women Voters in 1920, protecting and promoting the right of every citizen to vote has been a guiding principle of the League.  Americans are proud of the Voting Rights Act and rely on it to protect the essential expression of our democracy, the citizen’s right to vote.

Reference material for this every member material:

  1. The Denver Post  -  July 14, 2006 and July 28, 2006
  2. The National Voter (LWV) – June 2006
  3. National League of Women Voters website
  4. White House Gov’t News Release – August, 2006

 

 

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