Voting Rights Act of 1965 Still Just As Important

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson bulldozed the historic Voting Rights Act through the United States Congress and permanently altered the face of American politics. This piece of legislation effectively ended election disenfranchisement for blacks and other American minorities. But unless Congress again comes together and votes to assure minority voters of their constitutionally guaranteed electoral rights, key sections of the act will expire.

These important provisions include:

• Section 5, which requires districts with a history of voter discrimination to obtain approval before making changes to electoral procedures.
• Section 203, which entails that areas with high concentrations of non-English speakers to provide ballot access and information in other languages.

A recent article by Stuart Comstock-Gay highlights the need to reauthorize the portions of the act set to expire next August. In the article, Comstock-Gay writes:

It is difficult to imagine a law more important to American democracy and civil rights than the Voting Rights Act of 1965. To find another law that more fundamentally altered the way American democracy works, you have to go back to the Civil War era 14th and 15th Amendments. The Voting Rights Act is that important.

Given the continued incidents of modern voter disenfranchisement like Tom DeLay's notorious 2003 racial gerrymandering abuses (which will be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court next term), the cancellation of a 2001 municipal election in Mississippi coinciding with the rising prominence of black candidates and voters, and reported abuses in Ohio during last year's presidential election, it is clear that the American democratic system has not quite shed the ugly specter of voter disenfranchisement.

And don't expect the White House to come out in full support, either. During a recent event at the Lyndon Johnson presidential library, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and President Bush refused to say whether or not they would support a full renewal of the expiring provisions. Gonzales would only say that the administration "looks forward to working with Congress" on the act. Both houses of Congress must take the lead on this issue and acknowledge its importance.

Southern progressives (unfortunately a rare commodity in Congress) should take a stand and prove that they are committed to preserving the electoral rights and protections guaranteed by the 1965 Voting Rights Act. All American citizens, regardless of their native language or ethnicity, deserve the right to cast their votes and stake a claim in the future of our country.