|
Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Payne voted to reauthorize the landmark Voting Rights Act, citing the need to ensure the right to vote is fully protected. The Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 reauthorizes for 25 years the Voting Rights Act, which was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965. The reauthorization passed by a vote of 390 – 33.
“The reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act,” Payne stated, “is a reaffirmation of the democratic values upon which America was founded. The intrinsic right of every American to exercise their right to vote compelled this Congress to pass this piece of legislation without adulteration. Recent discriminatory actions in the states of Georgia, Texas, the Dakotas and even in New Jersey underscored the importance of quickly reauthorizing this bill.”
Representative Payne also added, “I am pleased that Republicans agreed with Democrats’ long push to support the reauthorization and honor their commitment of bringing bipartisan, bicameral legislation to the floor.”
Enacted in 1965, and expanded in 1975, the Voting Rights Act has helped the United States to turn a corner in its discriminatory and disenfranchising history. Ensured by the 15th and 19th Amendments of the US Constitution, which states that no US citizen’s right to vote can be abridged on the basis of race or gender, the Voting Rights Act reasserts that every legal age American will be able to vocalize their choice at the ballot box. While the right to vote is permanent, the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 will reauthorize certain expiring provisions such as language assistance before and during elections and the dispatching of federal observers to monitor polling stations for possible voting rights violations.
The Voting Rights Act has played a key role in reversing the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans and other minorities fostered by segregation and oppression. The success of the VRA has led to significant political achievement and greater minority representation at all levels of government. According to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, today there are more than 9,100 African American and 6,000 Latino elected officials across the country and the number of Asian Americans holding elected office has tripled.
“While substantial progress has been made in the area of voting rights over the last 40 years, we must continue to create a more just, fair and equal society,” said Congressman Payne. “The Voting Rights Act was one of the nation’s most crucial civil rights victories and memorializes those who marched, struggled, and died to secure the right to vote for all Americans. Now, we must continue our efforts to protect the rights of every American voter to ensure the right to vote is never compromised.”
### |
|
