July 12, 2006
Ask Your Representative to Support the Reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act
Action Needed
Call your Representative at the Capitol Switchboard (202-224-3121), or through a toll-free number provided by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (1-866-808-0065) that is available throughout the week and urge them to support the renewal of the Voting Rights Act (H.R.9).
Issue
On July 13, 2006, the entire House of Representatives may consider H.R.9, the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006. This is the identical bill that was scheduled to be brought up in June but was impeded by a group of extremists, many of whom represent states with egregious violations of the Voting Rights Act. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) vigorously supports this legislation and is urging every Member of the House of Representatives to support a “clean bill” and oppose all amendments.
H.R.9 is the product of months of intense hearings and is bipartisan supported. Moreover, the hearings concluded that barriers to equal minority voter protection remain embedded in the United States even today. In particular, H.R.9 would reauthorize and restore expiring portions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Despite the fact that African Americans and other racial and ethnic minority Americans are guaranteed the right to vote by the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was passed after the Civil War in 1870, states and local municipalities persisted in using tactics such as poll taxes, literacy tests and blatant intimidation to prevent people from casting free and uninhibited ballots. Therefore, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted to insure that no federal, state or local government may in any capacity impede people from registering to vote or voting due to their race or ethnicity.
Most provisions contained in the 1965 Act, and specifically the portions which guarantee that no one may be denied the right to vote because of his or her race or color, are permanent. However, in August 2007, there are three critical enforcement-related provisions that will expire unless reauthorized. The first is Section 5, which requires certain jurisdictions to obtain approval or “preclearance” from the United States Department of Justice or the United States District Court in Washington, D.C. before they can make any changes to voting practices or procedures. The second provision due for expiration is Section 203, which mandates that certain jurisdictions provide bilingual language assistance to voters in communities where there is a concentration of citizens who are limited English proficient. Lastly, Sections 6-9 are provisions that authorize the federal government to send federal election officials to specific jurisdictions covered by Section 5 where there is compelling evidence of attempts to intimidate minority voters at the polls.
Social Work Interest
NASW profoundly believes that democracy works best when more Americans are involved in the political process, not fewer. H.R 9 would encourage voting and provide many new citizens with the opportunity to participate in the electoral process and to become a stakeholder in the future of this great nation. The original Voting Rights Act of 1965 is considered to be one of America’s most relevant civil rights laws because it guaranteed the rights of all citizens to cast a free and unfettered vote irrespective of his or her race or ethnic background. Since that time, the enforcement provisions have been renewed and subsequently reauthorized four times by bipartisan majorities of the United States House and Senate and signed into law by both Republican and Democratic Presidents. Social Workers contend that voting is a basic right and citizens should be assisted in all possible ways to exercise that right; any action which denies access or discourages any citizen from voting should be prohibited. Urge your Representative to reject any amendments to the Voting Rights Act (H.R.9) and support the bill. The Association thanks you for your advocacy.
Contact
Lawrence Moore, III, Lobbyist/Senior Government Relations Associate, at 202-336-8289.
THANKS FOR YOUR ADVOCACY!
|
About
NASW