Voting Rights Act reauthorization: what you need to know.

The League of Women Voters recognized during its inception that the way to fulfill the promise of our democracy was to make it work for all citizens--that mission and commitment remain as vital today as ever. Together, LCCR and the League have fought to secure equal voting rights as the very foundation of that democracy, recognizing that the franchise is central to our individual and collective ability to impact public policy and achieve real differences in our communities.

This year Congress is debating reauthorization of the expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). This historic Act is widely considered the most effective civil rights law in American history for its ability to protect the right to vote of ALL Americans. When passed in 1965, the VRA put teeth into the 15th Amendment's guarantee that no citizen can be denied the right to vote because of the color of their skin. It outlawed poll taxes, literacy tests, White-only primaries and other devices that kept minorities from voting.

Expiring Safeguards

The safeguards expiring in 2007 include Section 5, the "preclearance" provision. This requires states and local governments with a history of significant discrimination to obtain approval from the Department of Justice or a federal district court before they can make changes in election procedures. This provision prevents discrimination before it starts by making covered jurisdictions show that the proposed change is not discriminatory.

The language assistance provisions of the VRA are also set to expire. This critical part of the VRA ensures that large communities of citizens with limited English proficiency can access the electoral process. It requires that oral and written language assistance be provided for language minorities who need assistance navigating often complicated rules and ballot procedures. The language minority provisions benefit Alaska Natives, American Indians, Asians and Spanish Heritage persons who Congress has found have faced, and continue to face, significant voting discrimination.

Another of the expiring provisions authorizes the U.S. Attorney General's office to send Election Day observers to monitor polling places and the counting of ballots in areas with a history of discrimination.

Historic Success

Since initial passage, the VRA has been renewed five times by bipartisan majorities in the United States House and Senate and has been signed by four Republican presidents. Each time its temporary provisions have been reauthorized and expanded to afford people of color the opportunity to influence government in ways that were not thought possible 50 years ago. The VRA has been instrumental in protecting the political voice of minorities, preventing purposeful discrimination and expanding the diversity of views within our representative bodies. Indeed, we owe achievements like increased minority voter turn-out rates and representation in the United States Congress to the VRA.

The Work Is Not Over

Nonetheless, despite the achievements of the civil rights movement and the progress made during the last four decades in minority registration and voting, as well as the inclusion of language minority citizens in the democratic process, there is no question that barriers to equal minority voter participation continue to exist.

During these four decades, a second generation of discrimination has emerged which serves to abridge or deny minorities their equal voting rights. Whether it is an at-large election, an annexation, polling place change or redistricting, changes in voting procedures and practices have resulted in discrimination against minority voters. Likewise, when language minorities in communities across America are denied the language assistance that they need in order to cast an informed vote, we know the right of minority citizens to cast an effective ballot is in jeopardy.

Today, we know that there is much work left to be done, because gains made by minority voters could be lost if the expiring provisions are not renewed and strengthened.

In recent elections we have seen partisan challenges targeting African-American and Latino voters and widespread dissemination in minority neighborhoods of disinformation flyers on or before Election Day. Furthermore, in places like South Dakota with large Native American populations, overt racial appeals, egregious attempts to intimidate minority voters and other tactics reminiscent of the Deep South in the 1960s have been documented.

In 2001, three weeks before Election Day in Kilmichael, Mississippi, the all-white town council decided to cancel the municipal elections when it became clear that, for the first time in the town's history, a black candidate would win the mayoral election. However, because Mississippi is covered by the Voting Rights Act, Kilmichael's change in election procedure--in this case canceling an election--had to be approved by the Department of Justice before it could take effect. The Department of Justice concluded that Kilmichael's decision to cancel the election was racially motivated and insisted that the election go on as planned. Without the VRA--in 2001 no less!--it is possible that the all-white town council would have prevailed.

Kilmichael is not an isolated example. A recent study by the National Commission on the Voting Rights Act (NCVRA) reports that exclusionary tactics continue to be employed with the same frequency as they were before 1982, the year of the last major VRA reauthorization.

Recent reports from the RenewtheVRA.org collaborative highlight voter discrimination across the country: from Alaska and Texas to New York and California. For example, in August 2003, weeks before a September election, Bexar County, TX, attempted to eliminate five early polling places that serve predominantly Latino neighborhoods--an act that would leave many Latino voters without convenient access to the polls.

Similarly, during the 2004 and 2005 elections in New York City, voters and poll inspectors were monitored harassing Asian-American voters. Several hostile voters, referring to Asian-American voters, commented that, "You all are turning this country into a third world dump."

Renew and Restore the VRA

Renewal of the VRA is not a minority issue but an issue for all who care deeply about preserving American democracy and ensuring equal access to the electoral process. We have not reached our goal of equal opportunity and fairness for all until every voter has equal access to the polling place and the opportunity to cast an effective ballot. It is critical we renew and restore the VRA to guarantee that our democracy is open to all and works for all its citizens. To see what you can do to advance renewal and restoration of the VRA, see Hill Bulletin (p. 12).

VOTER LINKS

* www.RenewtheVRA.org

* www.lwv.org

Wade Henderson is Executive Director, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR).