But
many Republicans are pushing for a change in this landmark legislation of 1965.
I wonder why?
The
landmark legislation requires the Justice Department to "pre-clear"
any changes to election laws in some or all parts of 16 states, mostly in the
South, because of their histories of racially discriminatory voting practices.
The Justice Department recently used the mandate to block a voter
identification law in South Carolina on grounds that it would harm minority
voter turnout.
South
Carolina has filed a federal lawsuit to overturn the decision, and legal
observers believe the case has a strong chance of reaching the Supreme Court,
where justices would be asked to rule on the constitutionality of the Voting
Rights Act.
Texas,
another "pre-clearance" state, has asked the Supreme Court to rule on
its redistricting plan. A challenge of the Act brought by Shelby County, Ala. —
which recently lost a ruling in federal district court — also could be headed
to the High Court.
Three
states, and two smaller communities in Alabama and North Carolina, want to
regain autonomy over their elections, which are under strict federal
supervision imposed by the Voting Rights Act to remedy past discrimination.
The
complaints ask the courts to strike down the central provision in the law,
known as "pre-clearance," which requires governments with a history
of discrimination to get federal permission to change election procedures.
Pre-clearance is enforced throughout nine states and in portions of seven
others. Most of the jurisdictions are in the South.
A
pivotal Supreme Court ruling in 2009 suggested the mandate — known in legal
circles as Section 5 of the law — may no longer be constitutional. "In
part due to the success of that legislation, we are now a very different
Nation," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion.
The
Pew Research Center says the 2008 elections included the most diverse
electorate in U.S. history, as non-whites made up nearly 24 percent of all
voters. The share of white voters slid to 76.3 percent from 79.2 percent in
2004. Black turnout reached a record 65.2 percent in 2008, compared with 55
percent in 1988, according to the Pew study.
Driven
by Barack Obama's presidential campaign, blacks turned out at the same rate as
whites for the first time. Also in 2008, the voting rates of both
Asian-Americans and Hispanics increased by roughly 4 percentage points from
2004, according to the Census Bureau.
Have
circumstances for minorities has truly improved, Congress believes they haven't
improved enough. In 2006, lawmakers voted to extend the Voting Rights Act for
another 25 years.
Proponents of the Republican-led initiatives say their
intent is to prevent voter fraud and shore up the election system. Opponents,
mainly Democrats and voting and civil rights groups, insist the measures are
aimed at suppressing turnout among minorities and young people, who tend to
vote for Democratic candidates. The Justice Department has challenged many of
these measures in lawsuits filed under the Voting Rights Act.
But
you have a Republican representative in PA tell the media and a republican
group that legislation to help Mitt Romney when the battleground state done.
Florida former GOP chairman recently came out and said that his state party
intentionally wanted to suppress minority voting.
Most
notable is in Pennsylvania Republicans in a case in the Federal Courts came out
to say on opening day of arguments that they don’t believe Voter Fraud is a problem, a set back some see
for their case.
I
personally believe that many Republicans and Tea Party elected members want to
scale back the voting rights act of 1965, so that blacks and minorities will
have less power and voice in the political electoral process in America.
