Renewal of the Voting Rights Bill Essential

House of Representatives Set to Vote on Renewal of the Voting Rights Act
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
By: Sherrel Wheeler Stewart, BlackAmericaWeb.com


The U.S. House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and some congressional and civil rights leaders fear attempts will be made to water down the law that protects the voting rights of minorities and women.

“This legislation has bi-partisan support, and we had hoped it would be passed as-is without amendments,” Rep. Artur Davis, D-Alabama, told BlackAmericaWeb.com. Because the bill was not placed on the suspension calendar, it will now be debated in the House in regular order and there could be an attempt to weaken some of the provisions of the act, Davis said.

The greatest debate is expected over the “pre-clearance” issue in Section 5, which requires governments in certain Southern states to clear with the U.S. Department of Justice any changes to their voting system, including changes of jurisdiction.

Already, some Congressmen from Georgia and Texas have argued that their states should be excluded from that requirement because of progress made in the election of black officials.

But Janice Mathis, southern regional director for Rainbow/PUSH, said most black officials elected in recent years have come from majority black districts and that there has not been enough progress made to begin excluding states currently covered in the Voting Rights Act.

She said this week’s report out of Georgia on the number of registered voters who do not meet the voter ID requirement on new laws is an example of why the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act is so crucial.

A state analysis released on Monday showed that more than 675,000 registered Georgia voters still lack the most common photo ID used to cast a ballot such as a driver’s license or a non-driver identification card, according to the Associated Press.

“This is merely leaning toward totalitarianism," Mathis told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "They don’t want everyone to have a say so in government."

Mathis said a disproportionate number of blacks, poor whites and other minorities could be excluded from the right to vote in the upcoming July 18 primary and the November general election.

“This is a critical time for Georgia voters,” Mathis said. “An incumbent Republican governor will defend a seat in the governor’s mansion, and the legislative seats are on the ballot. We still need all of the protections guaranteed in the Voting Rights Act.”

At least 150 lawmakers have signed on as sponsors of H.R. 9, the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006, but Davis said still there are about 10 Southern Democrats and 72 Southern Republicans who have not signed on.

“Some of those members could possibly attempt to make amendments that would weaken the legislation,” Davis said. If they are successful, they could still say, ‘I voted for the Voting Rights Act reauthorization,’ but as a practical matter, it would be stripped of content, Davis said.

“All of us would welcome a political reality in which the political process was never manipulated to disadvantage voters who are in the minority in their communities,” Davis said. “That is not the case. The election process continues to be abused -- through redistricting schemes, absentee ballot fraud, last minute changes of polling locations and outright restrictions on registration for some eligible voters.”

Ted Shaw, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, said the Voting Rights Act reauthorization is the most significant legislation to come before Congress in many years.

“We are hoping that the bi-partisan support that brought the legislation this far will propel it through Congress,” Shaw told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

“At a time when America is trumpeting democracy around the world, we can not afford to undermine democracy at home,” Shaw said.

After the reauthorization is passed in the House, the Senate must also take up the matter.

Supporters are hoping that it can gain full approval this summer; however, they acknowledge there may be significant obstacles if the legislation faces difficulty in the House. The summer session will be cut short because of an election year, and it is possible that House and Senate versions of the reauthorization may not come together before adjournment, Davis said.

Civil Rights organizations are encouraging constituents to call their representatives in Congress at (202) 224-3121 to show support for the reauthorization.

“Sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 expire in 2007,” Shaw said. “We must pass the reauthorization this year.”