Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Editorial: America still needs the Voting Rights Act
House leaders are culpable in letting extremists hold fundamental electoral protections hostage.
From the RoundTable blog
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The U.S. House of Representatives this week plans to resume debate about the Voting Rights Act. What exactly is there to debate?
The Voting Rights Act, adopted in 1965, ensures equal access to the ballot box for all Americans, regardless of skin color or native language. By any measure, it has been an extraordinary success. Minority voters participate in the democratic process in ever-greater numbers, and more blacks, Asians, Hispanics and other minorities than ever before fill offices at all levels of government.
Provisions of the act expire next year, and nearly everyone supports its renewal.
Nearly everyone.
A few weeks ago, Republican leaders in the House bowed to the far right wing of their party, postponing a vote on renewal. Extremists, mostly from the South, are upset that the act requires nine states with a history of voter discrimination, Virginia among them, to receive federal approval before changing voting rules. They say such babysitting is no longer necessary because states have come a long way since the racist '60s.
Yet some of those states continue placing hurdles between minorities and democratic representation. Just in the last few weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a partisan Texas redistricting plan violated the act, and a local court blocked Georgia from requiring identification from voters in its upcoming primary election.
Nor is the assault limited to the states. Many in the House have twisted the Voting Rights Act into a cudgel in the anti-immigration fight. They would eliminate a requirement that election officials provide foreign-language assistance, such as bilingual ballots in communities where there are a large number of non-English speakers.
If only they were correct that America no longer needed the Voting Rights Act. Unfortunately, there are still those who would make it more difficult for minorities to vote.
Voting is the fundamental right in a representative democracy. It must be defended against extremists who would exclude citizens based on race and ethnicity. The nation has come a long way, but not yet far enough.
