Re: Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 (HR 9)

Dear Representatives:

The House Judiciary Committee is expected to mark-up the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 (HR 9) on Wednesday, May 10th in Full Committee.  On behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and its hundreds of thousands of members, activists, and fifty–three affiliates nationwide, we write to urge you to support this legislation which is critical to ensuring the continued protection of the right to vote for all Americans.  There is no greater tribute Congress can give to the lives of the women after whom this bill is named than to restore and renew the Voting Rights Act (VRA) by voting in support of HR 9 and opposing any amendments that would weaken or compromise the spirit or effectiveness of the law.

This bill would reauthorize three key enforcement provisions of the VRA, which are set to expire in 2007.  These include: Section 5, which requires jurisdictions with a history of discrimination in voting to get federal approval of any new voting practices or procedures; Section 203, which ensures that American citizens with limited English proficiency get the assistance they need in order to cast a ballot; and Sections 6-9, which authorize the attorney general to appoint federal election observers where there is evidence of attempts to intimidate minority voters at the polls. These sections have been essential to eliminating and deterring voting discrimination and granting access to the ballot box for minority citizens.  

In addition to reauthorizing the expiring provisions, the legislation would address two recent Supreme Court decisions that have severely eroded the effectiveness of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Reno v. Bossier Parish II and Georgia v. Ashcroft.  HR 9 restores the original congressional intent of the VRA by making certain that voting changes that have the “purpose” of discriminating against minority voters can be blocked by the U.S. Department of Justice under Section 5. Also, the “ability to elect” standard would be restored to Section 5 so that minority voters have the opportunity to elect representatives of their choice who share their values, interests and concerns.[1]

The Act also would increase access to the courts by allowing the recovery of expert witness fees for plaintiffs.  Experts witness testimony in voting rights cases is essential for proving that voting discrimination exists.  Additionally, Section 203 would be revised so that coverage determinations would be made more frequently, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

The House Judiciary Constitution Subcommittee has held extensive hearings to examine whether there is a continuing need for the VRA.  The record it established shows that while progress has been made, there is overwhelming evidence that voting discrimination persists in jurisdictions covered by Section 5 and Section 203.  In fact, since the VRA was last reauthorized in 1982, the Department of Justice and disfranchised voters have brought hundreds of cases of intentional voter discrimination before the courts – many within the last five years.

In addition, the ACLU submitted an 867-page report, “The Case for Extending and Amending the Voting Rights Act”, which further illustrates the continuing need for the expiring provisions.[2]    The report discusses the involvement of the ACLU Voting Rights Project in 293 cases brought in 31 states since June 1982, the date of the last extension of the expiring provisions of the Act. It documents continuing purposeful discrimination in voting against racial minorities in the South and against American Indians in the West and relies heavily on the findings of discrimination and racially polarized voting by numerous federal district courts. The ACLU report was just one among many that documented the persistence of continued, purposeful voting discrimination in the covered jurisdictions.   Over 8,000 pages of House testimony strongly supports the continuing need for the VRA. 

One example of the continuing need for the VRA is demonstrated by events that took place in Kilmichael, Mississippi.  In 2001, several African American candidates appeared to be in a strong position to win seats for the Board of Alderman race.  The all-white Board of Aldermen and mayor canceled the elections three weeks before they were held in an effort to prevent African Americans from winning office. According to the 2000 Census, the African American population had grown to 52.4 percent of the population.  Since 1990, African American residents had become a majority of the town’s population and a majority of its registered voters.[3]  The U.S. Justice Department stepped in to enforce the VRA. When the elections were finally held in 2003, three African Americans were elected to the Board of Aldermen and the town elected its first African American mayor.  There are countless examples like this documented in the House Judiciary Committee record.  But for the expiring provisions of the Voting Rights Act, many efforts to disfranchise minority citizens would go unchallenged.

Recognizing that many states and local governments have continued to erect new barriers to minority political participation, Congress has extended Section 5 coverage three times: in 1970 (for five years), in 1975 (for seven years) and in 1982 (for 25 years).  The language minority protections of Section 203 were adopted in 1975 and extended and amended in 1982 and again in 1992.  Moreover, Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, Ford, and George H.W. Bush have supported the enactment or reauthorization of key parts of the law.  Most recently, President George W. Bush stated, “many active citizens struggled hard to convince Congress to pass civil rights legislation that ensured the rights of all – including the right to vote.  That victory was a milestone in the history of civil rights.  Congress must act to renew the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”[4]

Although progress has been made as a result of the passage of the VRA, equal opportunity in voting still does not exist in many places. Discrimination on the basis of race and language continue to deny many Americans their basic democratic rights.  Although such discrimination today is often more subtle than it used to be the disempowering effects are the same, and such discrimination must be remedied to ensure the healthy functioning of our democracy.  Simply put, the struggle for equality in voting continues and is clearly demonstrated by the voluminous House record.

Because the expiring provisions of the VRA prevent and help deter voting discrimination, failure to fully renew and restore the expiring provisions would undoubtedly undermine the progress this country has made in ending voting discrimination. 

We strongly urge you to support the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 (HR 9) and oppose any weakening amendments.  At a time when Congress has proffered so many resources to spread democracy abroad, it must also act to ensure its vitality here at home.

Sincerely,

Caroline Fredrickson, Director           
ACLU Washington Legislative Office

Laughlin McDonald, Director
ACLU Voting Rights Projec

LaShawn Warren, Legislative Counsel
ACLU Washington Legislative Office

Endnotes

[1] For more information on these cases refer to our policy report “Promises to Keep” located at: www.aclu.org/votingrights/gen/24396leg20060307.html
[2] “The Case for Extending and Amending the Voting Rights Act: Voting Rights Litigation, 1982-2006: A Report of the Voting Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union” www.aclu.org/votingrights/gen/24394leg20060306.html
[3] Letter from the Department of Justice to officials of Kilmichael, MS, December 11, 2001 www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/sec_5/ltr/l_121101.htm
[4] President George W. Bush, President Celebrates African American History Month at the White House (Feb. 22, 2006) (transcript available at www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/02/20060222-6.html).