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John Lewis (GA-05)

The “Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006” -- H.R. 9

This bill will extend the VRA for 25 years and will update a number of provisions of the original Voting Rights Act to take into account continuing voting rights violations in numerous states throughout the union including, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, as well as jurisdictions in New York, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Washington to name a few.  The legislation will also clarify some provisions of the Voting Rights Act that Congress has concluded have been misinterpreted by the United States Supreme Court.

Key provisions of the VRA that would be reauthorized and extended by the bill introduced today include: 


·        Section 5, which requires jurisdictions with a history of discrimination in voting to get federal pre-clearance of any new voting practices or procedures before they may be implemented;

·        Section 203, the bi-lingual ballot provisions that ensure that some citizens with limited English proficiency are able to read ballots in a language they can understand; and

Sections 6 – 9, which authorize the Attorney General to appoint federal election observers where he finds evidence of attempts to intimidate minority voters at the polls or prevent them from exercising their right to vote freely.


Leading up to the introduction of today’s bill, the House Subcommittee on the Constitution has held 10 hearings to receive oral and written testimony from witnesses, including supporters and opponents of reauthorization.  The hearings examined the effectiveness of each of the expiring provisions in remedying discrimination and protecting minority voters over the last 25 years, as well as their continued need going forward.


For more information on the Voting Rights Act go to:  www.renewthevra.org