VOTING: REMEMBERING 1965
13 July 2006 11:16 am by Taylor Marsh
VOTING: REMEMBERING 1965
UPDATE: The Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act passed overwhelmingly, which is a big win for our side. Thirty-three Republicans voted against it.
Ladies and gentleman, I introduce the honorable Rep. John Lewis, Democratic representative from the great state of Georgia. Nothing else need be said.
Oh, except that the conservative Republican Congress (Did you click on that link? Go back if you didn't.) wants to wipe away progress. No one
should be surprised. After all, if conservatives don't stack the vote they can't win.
For 41 years this law has protected our freedom to vote, and it has been
reauthorized, on a bipartisian basis, time and again. Yet this Republican
Congress is trying to change that with their amendments intended to strip
the Voting Rights Act of many critical provisions.They want to eliminate oversight:
Republican Congressman Norwood of Georgia wants to revise the provisions of
Section 5 of the VRA which mandates that the Justice Department approve any
changes to electoral process in places with a history of discrimination. This
Section is still critical – in fact it's been the only thing stopping over
a thousand different changes which the Justice Department has objected to
as discriminatory since the last voting rights reauthorization in 1982.They want to eliminate 15 years of protection:
Republican Congressman Gohmert of Texas wants to cut the reauthorization period
down to 10 years – instead of the recommended 25 year reauthorization period
that was suggested by a bipartisian judiciary committee.They want to eliminate assistance for American citizens:
Republicans Steve King (R-IA), Ernest Istook (R-OK), Candice Miller (R-MI),
Ginny Browne-Waite (R-FL), and Spencer Bachus (R-AL) hope to see the language
provisions that provide for bi-lingual ballots to be removed from the Act.
Democracy thrives when citizens are knowledgeable and informed, when there
is an obstacle free path to participating in government.
