Stacey Abrams, who would have been the country’s first Black woman governor, lost the election by just under 55,000 votes — after years of her rival Brian Kemp systematically suppressing the votes of people of color.Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a court found that the state’s voter ID law “target[ed] African Americans with almost surgical precision,” and struck the law down in its entirety. After two years of litigation, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law, in part, as a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, finding that the law had a discriminatory effect on Latino and Native American voters, and that it was designed to do so. Republican lawmakers in 15 states have passed such laws since the Supreme Court's shameful decision. When the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act seven years ago, it passed the buck to Congress to update it, but Senate Republicans haven't lifted a finger. In Virginia in 2013, nearly 39,000 voters were removed from the rolls when state officials relied on a faulty database – removing voters who had supposedly moved out of the state. In Georgia’s 2020 primary, 80 polling places were closed in Atlanta, home to Georgia’s largest Black population — forcing 16,000 residents to use a single polling place. The people are ready to fight back against their agenda and build a 21st century democracy that is representative of and responsive to our growing, diverse nation.If your vote didn’t count, they wouldn’t be trying so hard to suppress it. He has written 15 books, including the best sellers "Aftershock", "The Work of Nations," and"Beyond Outrage," and, his most recent, "The Common Good." Congress, after vigorous and at times prolonged debate because of die-hard segregationists’ filibuster, approved the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law on Aug. 6, 1965. It's been collecting dust on Mitch McConnell's desk ever since. Pressed by Sanders, Democrats aim to lower Medicare eligibility age in recovery package. There's no telling what we'll be able to accomplish when we win the battle for voting rights. A federal appeals court finally allowed a watered-down version that's still one of the most restrictive voter ID laws in the country. Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (the Act) in order to end a century of transgressions against minority voting rights. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is in limbo, per the Supreme Court's 2013 ruling. The landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act sought to officially end restrictions that had disenfranchised millions of minority voters for decades, mandating the abolition of literacy tests and other discriminatory restrictions on … One Time. Section 2of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color, or membership in one of the language minority groups identified in Section 4(f)(2) of the Act. It’s been collecting dust on Mitch McConnell’s desk ever since. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. If you liked this article, please donate $5 to keep NationofChange online through November. Robert B. Reich is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. It said, "The President is committed to working with Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act and pass H.R. GUNIER: Well, the big change with the Voting Rights Act is that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is currently dead. Stacey Abrams, who would have been the country's first Black woman governor, lost the election by just under 55,000 votes — after years of her rival Brian Kemp systematically suppressing the votes of people of color. He and his GOP colleagues think they can sit idly by as Republican state officials suppress the vote with no accountability. It was a signature victory in Lewis' decades-long struggle for voting rights. Robert B. Reich is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies. Today's voter suppression often takes the form of purging eligible voters from the rolls, cutting back early and absentee voting, closing polling places, and using strict voter ID requirements – disenfranchising voters of color at every turn. After two years of litigation, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law, in part, as a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, finding that the law had a discriminatory effect on Latino and Native American voters, and that it was designed to do so. Republican lawmakers in 15 states have passed such laws since the Supreme Court’s shameful decision. They're wrong. The voter assistance … Officials in states that used to be under federal oversight purged voters from the rolls at a rate 40 percent higher than those in states with no history of voter suppression. Associated Press articles: Copyright © 2016 The Associated Press. If your vote didn't count, they wouldn't be trying so hard to suppress it. Section 5 was designed to ensure that voting changes in covere… In December, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a collection of bills intended to restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 after a 2013 Supreme Court ruling took the teeth out of its most powerful tool: the … Those provisions had stopped states with histories of voter suppression from changing their election laws without an okay from the federal government. This left Section 2 as the Voting Rights Act’s sole remaining prohibition of racial discrimination in voting. He's also co-creator of the Netflix original documentary "Saving Capitalism.". When fracking moves into the neighborhood, mental health risks rise, Watch: Why Trump’s judges are the worst of the worst, Why Kingian democratic socialism is the best path forward for the progressive left, Oregon Governor Kate Brown pushes expanding vote-by-mail to counter GOP voter suppression efforts, While the rest of the U.S. was struggling, 55 corporations paid $0 in federal taxes last year. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement on August 6, 1965, and Congress later amended the Act five times to expand its protections. 4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act, now named the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act in his honor, to restore the Voting Rights Act and stop this pervasive voter suppression. “Georgia still has a decision to make about who will we be in the next election. Donation Total: The people are ready to fight back against their agenda and build a 21st century democracy that is representative of and responsive to our growing, diverse nation. Voter roll purges have become increasingly common. But in 2013 the voter suppression efforts of yesteryear came roaring back. Lessons from the past: Protecting women and girls from violence during COVID-19. 1973aa-6, provides that any voter who requires assistance to vote by reason of blindness, disability, or inability to read or write may be given assistance by a person of the voter's choice, other than the voter's employer or union. The Voting Rights Act had worked so well, the logic went, that it was no longer needed. This country has a long history of disenfranchising and suppressing the votes of people of color, particularly in the South. Make sure you check your registration, stay up to date on your state's rules for mail-in voting, find your polling place, and get involved with organizations on the frontlines of protecting the vote. ------------------------------------------. Imagine all we could accomplish with all the time, money, and resources that go into prolonged legal battles against these discriminatory laws that should never have seen the light of day in the first place. As it turns out, Chief Justice John Roberts was dead wrong when he argued "things have changed dramatically" in the South. Republican lawmakers in 15 states have passed such laws since the Supreme Court's shameful decision. Section 5 is a special provision of the statute that requires state and local governments in certain parts of the country to get federal approval (known as "preclearance" ) before implementing any changes they want to make in their voting … Election officials in Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia have all conducted illegal voter roll purges. Finally, after numerous demonstrations were held by activists -- some ending in violence -- President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law in 1965. The first goal of the Act-to eradicate the use of "tests or devices" that hinder registration of minority voters-has, for the most part, been met. 2 . Texas officials closed 750 polling places. He served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. That’s when the Supreme Court gutted key provisions in the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The 2020 election will be just the second presidential contest since 1965 where the Voting Rights Act isn’t in full effect. Copyright © 2021 Salon.com, LLC. Officials purged nearly 4 million more names between 2014 and 2016 than between 2006 and 2008 — a 33 percent increase. Within hours, lawmakers in a number of states were preparing to add voting provisions. federal law guaranteeing American minorities the right to vote free from racial discrimination Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. Arizona and Georgia were almost as bad. Imagine all we could accomplish with all the time, money, and resources that go into prolonged legal battles against these discriminatory laws that should never have seen the light of day in the first place. After two years of litigation, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the law, in part, as a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, finding that the law had a discriminatory effect on Latino and Native American voters, and that it was designed to do so. CHANG: The Voting Rights Act passed in 1965. $5.00 Not surprisingly, these closures were mostly in communities of color. All rights reserved. One of the most important parts of the Voting Rights Act has been Section 5, which keeps a watchful eye on states with a history of voting discrimination. In Georgia, the state's restrictive "exact match" ID law — requiring a voter's ID to exactly match the name on their registration, down to any dots or dashes — allowed state officials to throw out 53,000 majority-Black voter registrations less than a month before the state's tight 2018 gubernatorial race. Make it past a voter roll purges Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act had worked so,... 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