Article: Voting Rights
Source: lohud
http://www.lohud.com/article/20130824/OPINION/308240032/All-must-demand-Congress-restore-Voting-Rights-Act
All must demand Congress restore
Voting Rights Act
Ossining resolution can serve as model
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The Rev. Bobby Turner of Columbus, Ohio, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on Thursday as the nation prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington. The original march served as a catalyst for the Voting Rights Act; the commemoration comes after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling struck down a portion of the historic act. / AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
The trajectory of the history of the United States is one of ever-increasing civil and human rights. Some of these rights are enshrined in the Constitution, other in its Amendments, and still others won by war, hard political battle, litigation, and sacrifice — even, at times, of lives. The ethos of the nation continues to evolve — unfortunately, on June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court undermined centuries of progress.
On this eve of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, that momentous event which led to the passage of both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and which catalyzed a multi-racial movement toward greater freedom for all Americans, the Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of Shelby County, Ala. v. Holder, that implicitly endorsed policies of voter suppression and dealt a blow to our moral leadership in the world. The court, by a 5 to 4 majority, declared Section 4 (b) of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional, setting in motion the passage of and giving imprimatur to the most restrictive voting legislation since 1965.
Obstacles returning
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was enacted to address entrenched racial discrimination in voting, “an insidious and pervasive evil which had been perpetuated in certain parts of our country through unremitting and ingenious defiance of the Constitution.” (South Carolina v. Katzenbach, 1966)
It originally banned any “standard, practice or procedure” that “results in a denial or abridgment of the right of any citizen ... to vote on account of race or color.”
Tests or devices used to deny the vote originally included literacy and knowledge tests, “good moral character” requirements, and/or the need for vouchers from registered voters attesting to that good character.
Congress later reauthorized the act, amending it to preclude the practice of providing English-only voting materials and to forbid voting discrimination on the basis of membership in a language minority group.
Section 4 (b) delineated the formula for determining those states, counties, or parts thereof, which would be subject to pre-clearance conditions by the Justice Department before any change in voting procedures could go into effect.
When the high court decided Shelby County, Ala. v. Holder, the Department of Justice had imposed such pre-clearance conditions on all or part of the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia. In New York state, only New York (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), and Bronx counties required pre-clearance; Westchester County did not.
VRA had been an effective tool to empower minority voters for 48 years; since June 26, however, Florida, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Texas and Virginia have enacted harsh voter ID laws — all with the clear intent of making registration and voting difficult, if not impossible, not only for racial and linguistic minorities, but also for the aged and handicapped, for first-time voters and college students.
Stand for all
The Village of Ossining is a very diverse community; we are proud to be intolerant of all discriminatory laws and practices. Joining communities across the country, last Tuesday, the Board of Trustees, believing that none of us is free until the least among us is free, that what wrong is done to the least among us is done to each of us, and decrying the nullification of Section 4 (b) and the enactment of restrictive voter ID laws, passed a resolution calling on Congress to restore to the Voting Rights Act any and all safeguards and protections to ensure against discriminatory practices and policies, to replace Section 4 (b) of the act, with one inclusive of all states, worded so as not to run afoul of the Constitution.
We have sent copies to President Obama, Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, the entire New York state congressional delegation, and the governor.
It is incumbent on local municipalities to act boldly on the national and state level to protect the interests of our constituents. We encourage all communities in the Hudson Valley and in all of New York state to petition our state government to be in the forefront of those demanding such legislation. Put New York first in upholding the principles of liberty and democracy.
The writer, a Democrat, is mayor of the Village of Ossining and president of the Westchester Municipal Officials Association.
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