Do we still need (all of) the

Voting Rights Act?

Do we still need (all of) the Voting Rights Act?

No (Shelby v. Holder)

Yes (Dissenting Opinion)

IT IS NO LONGER NECESSARY - American

society has progressed dramatically and the VRA of

1965 accomplished what it intended to; disparities

reduced tremendously
STATES RIGHTS - Given the 10th amendment
reserved powers, reclearance puts an unfair and
unequal burden on targeted states.

OLD DATA - Preclearance provision based on data

from 50 years ago. Needs to be reevaluated at least

THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT IS STILL IN EFFECT

DESPITE THE RULING ABOUT PRECLEARANCE
- States will have to face legal consequences if they
attempt to suppress the vote among minorities

RACISM STILL PREVALENT IN US

DISPARITIES REDUCED BECAUSE OF the
Voting Rights Act. Congress has reauthorized
multiple times due to continued efforts to
suppress the vote (its like throwing away your
umbrella in a rainstorm b/c youre not getting wet

CONGRESS MUST PROTECT 14th/15th am

rights even if it means applying different rules in
different states, as long as its a rational decision
based on findings of abuse

PROSECUTING STATES IS A SLOW AND

DISJOINTED PROCESS - When we wait for
states to break the law, it takes a long time to
prosecute them and in the meantime, they often
put other measures in place and we have to start
over again

Recent Voter Suppression Laws

In the past 5 years, 395 new voter restrictions have been introduced in 49 states,
25 of which made it harder to vote. Examples:

Mandatory Voter ID requirements

Reductions in early voting
Elimination of same day registration
Closing of voting polls in minority-heavy districts
Redistricting in minority-majority districts (ie. Pasadena California, which
eliminated two Hispanic majority districts this year)

Daily Show clip on the Shelby v. Holder case:

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/dxhtvk/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-suppressingthe-vote

News clip montage of Voting Rights restrictions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JX9rhkwvdU

The Voting Rights Advancement

Act, proposed bill, 2015, would:

Require states with 15 voting violations in

individual districts (or 10 if the law was statewide) to submit future changes for
preclearance
Coverage would last 10 years and then be
reevaluated (initially in the 13 states in purple)
Would require approval EVERYWHERE for
specific election changes that have targetted
minority voters today, ie. voter ID laws, proof
of citizenship, reduction in bilingual election
materials, districting changes in 20%+
minority districts), etc.
Req. 180 days public notice before any
change to voting procedures/elig. reqs

How likely is it to pass?

Until recently the VRA held pretty strong bipartisan support

2006 the bill won reauthorization by 390 to 33 votes in the House and 98 to
0 votes in the Senate
George W. Bush (R) signed the bill into action in 2006

Since the Shelby decision, there is distinctly less bipartisan support for a new,
more current Voting Rights Act

Republicans tend to cite the need for protections against voter fraud to justify
new voting legislations such as voter ID laws

Republican Lisa Murkowski (Senator, Alaska) was

the first of her party to openly support the 2015 bill:
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 brought an end
to the ugly Jim Crow period in American history.
It is fundamentally important in our system of
government that every American be given the
opportunity to vote, regardless of who they are,
where they live, and what their race or national
origin may be.

In October, Ben Carson (Republican

candidate for president) said he would
support the protection of voting rights,
though he didnt see the news laws being
passed as racist

Other Voting Rights Issues:

Felon Voting Rights

Disproportionate number of minorities convicted felons (many for
non-violent crimes)
In some states, voting privileges are removed forever, even after the
incarceration period is over

Voting Rights in Territories (ie. PR, Guam, American Samoa)

Residents without citizenship status

Some have argued that non-citizen residents of the US shoulder many
responsibilities of citizenship, ie. paying taxes, but do not have
representation