July 14, 2006
Voting Rights Act Passes in House Despite Conservative Opposition
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
The House overwhelmingly approved an extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act for another 25 years in a 390-33 vote yesterday evening. The renewal must get Senate and presidential approval before the Act expires next year.
The bipartisan bill, introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) along with 152 cosponsors, was initially expected to pass without difficulty, but conservative Republicans raised complaints about many aspects of the renewal.
Republicans introduced four amendments to lower voter protections, including
one which would have shortened the renewal period to a decade and another
which would have allowed many states to print ballots only in English.
"While the bill ultimately passed by a wide margin, amendments that
would have gutted the Act were supported by a majority of the House
Republicans," Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Judiciary Committee Ranking
Member, told BuzzFlash.com. "The path taken by the House in reauthorizing
the Voting Rights Act was illustrative of the challenges facing the
country on issues of racial and economic justice."
"Yesterday's victory was an important first step in protecting the right to vote," Conyers added, "but it exposed the fact that we have a substantial distance to travel before protections (included in the bill) can expire."
A congressional staffer told BuzzFlash that the amendments were offered to "raise erroneous objections to the sensibilities of the Voting Rights Act." Many southern Republicans complained that the extension unfairly targeted their states, but the source said, "all they have to do is prove they haven't had any violations in ten years" to be taken off the watch list, which several jurisdictions have already done. Instead of simply ending discrimination, these Republicans hoped to merely cease supervision.
"The sad truth is discrimination still exists. And that is why we still need the Voting Rights Act," said Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) during debate. Lewis was nearly killed in 1965 by Alabama state troopers during a civil rights march.
Renewal of the Act "ensures that the gains made by minorities are not jeopardized," said Rep. Sensenbrenner, who is Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, after the vote. "I am proud to stand here with my colleagues, as I did in 1982, to ensure that voting rights remain protected for an additional 25 years."
Click below to view the roll calls for the following votes
- Full bill
- Amendment shortening
the renewal to 10 years
- Amendment
against multilingual ballots
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT