| A UW-Madison professor recently testified before members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee to urge an extension of the Voting Rights Act. David Canon, a political science professor and author of the award-winning book "Race, Redistricting, and Representation: The Unintended Consequences of Black-Majority Districts," encouraged members of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights to extend provisions in what he calls "one of the most important pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. History." The Voting Rights of 1965 is considered landmark civil rights legislation. For 41 years, the act has served as a tool to combat electoral discrimination against ethnic and racial minorities. Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, it first worked to outlaw literacy tests, poll taxes, and other bureaucratic restrictions that were often employed by Southern states in an effort to deny Blacks the right to vote. Today, the Voting Rights Act still works to combat racism at the polls. Key provisions of the Act, however, are set to expire in 2007 unless Congress votes to reauthorize them. On May 2, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators and Representatives introduced "The Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006" (VRARA). If passed, the VRARA would renew and restore temporary provisions of the Voting Rights Act that some feel are crucial to prohibiting voter discrimination. Section 5 of the Act requires that states and counties with a history of voter discrimination obtain federal approval before amending their election laws or procedures. Other provisions include sections requiring language assistance for U.S. citizens who are not fully proficient in English and authorization for the government to send observers to election sites to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act. On May 10, the House Judiciary Committee voted nearly unanimously to pass VRARA through to the House floor. Thirty three of the committee's 34 members voted to support bill H.R.9. But bill proponents were disappointed when House Republican leaders postponed a vote on VRARA. Republicans expressed misgivings about extending the provision that requires ballots to be printed in more than one language in areas highly populated by immigrants. They also said that the Act unfairly singles out nine states who at one time practiced racist voting policies. The bill is expected to be brought back for a vote after the July 4 recess. The companion bill in the Senate (S.2703) is expected to be voted on after the July 4 recess as well, but the timeline may be affected by the delay in the House. Both Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) are in support of the bill. Despite the setbacks, Canon is still cautiously confident that the bill will pass. He shared his expertise with the Senate subcommittee, of which Feingold is a member, to prove that the temporary provisions are still necessary. His focus was primarily on Section 5, which creates "ability-to-elect" districts. Canon said these districts are crucial to ensuring that minorities have equal opportunities to elect representatives of their choice. He explained it this way; every 10 years (in conjunction with the Census), voting districts are redrawn. Section 5 and subsequent amendments to the act ensure that "ability-to-elect" districts are in place in certain counties and states to ensure areas where minorities are given the opportunity to have the majority vote. This, in turn, increases the likelihood that minorities will secure seats in Congress. "The 1982 Voting Rights Act Amendments and subsequent interpretation by the Supreme Court in the 1980s, required that minorities be provided with equal opportunities to elect representatives of their choice when their numbers and configuration permitted," he said in his testimony. Canon says if it weren't for Section 5, there would be anywhere from 6 to 10 less Blacks in Congress. More importantly, minority voters are able to affect government policy by ensuring that representatives are elected that will protect their interests, regardless of their race. "Section 5 is still necessary to create more opportunities for minority voters to elect candidates of their choice," Canon said. Canon said it is crucial to have minorities in Congress in order to protect minority interests. His argument was countered by Carol Swain, a political science professor from Vanderbilt University. She claims that whether minority interests are pursued in Congress depends on the number of Democrats who hold seats, not the number of minorities. "Her basic view is that you don't need African Americans [or other minorities] in Congress to represent minority interests," Canon said. In her testimony, she said, 'there is a real tradeoff between descriptive representation, i.e. more Black faces in office, and substantive representation, i.e. more people in legislatures to form coalitions and vote for preferred political agenda. For the latter, political party is far more important than the race of the representative. As long as Blacks hold the views that they do, they will best be represented by the election of more Democrats to office." "Canon disagrees. According to his research, if minorities aren't in office, their needs are much less likely to be addressed. "In my research, White democrats spent far less time on issues that directly affect minority interests [when compared to minority representatives]," he said. "If you have an all-White Congress, minority interests tend to get ignored." Canon encouraged Senate members to pass S.2703 without amendment, saying the Voting Rights Act should be renewed and strengthened. Bill co-sponsor Sen. Charles Schumer agrees. "The Voting Rights Act is the most effective piece of civil rights legislation that we have ever passed," Schumer said. "It effectively addressed past injustices, and also set us on the path of more completely fulfilling the American promise of freedom and equality for all its peoples. The Act does not simply guarantee the right to vote, but it ensures that voters can effectively exercise that sacred part of the democratic process. We have come a long way since the days of the poll tax and raw voter intimidation in guaranteeing this right, but there is still a lot of work to do." |
| The Voting Rights Act must be extended! by Laura Salinger |
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