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Group of Republicans stalls renewal of Voting Rights Act

A spokesperson for House Speaker Dennis Hastert says that the Republican leadership "is committed to passing the Voting Rights Act legislation as soon as possible."

Maybe not. Today, just as the vote to renew the Voting Rights Act was about to take place, some members of the Republican Party met behind closed doors and decided to stall the vote. Their reason? That some of the requirements of the act were no longer relevant to key southern states that historically have tried to prevent African Americans from voting. Two Congressmen from Georgia, Lynn Westmoreland and Jack Kingston, led the movement to delay the vote, and they were joined by 78 other Republicans.

Westmoreland's and Kingston's objection to renewing the act as is was that it requires federal approval for everything. "If you move a polling place from the Baptist church to the Methodist church, you've got to go through the Justice Department," Kingston said. Speaking before Congress, Westmoreland raved about hearing complaints of discrimination from someone "whose brother-in-law told him the wrong polling place."

The Voting Rights Act outlawed poll taxes and literacy tests, but many believe that the Justice Department's approval of picture ID requirements by some states, including Georgia, amount to the same kind of discrimination because a fee is charged for the ID if the voter does not already have a driver's license. Indeed, a federal judge fouind the Georgia law unconstitutional

Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said a bipartisan commission found evidence of recent voting-rights violations in Georgia, Texas and several other states. There is also ample evidence that African American voters were intimidated by Republican operatives in the 2000 Florida presidential election and the 2004 Ohio presidential election.

Steve King, a Congressman from Iowa, objected to renewing the act as is because of its requirement that ballots be printed in languages other than English.

Posted by Diane E. Dees on 06/22/06 at 5:20 PM | E-mail | Print

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Comments

Do we need to go back to the 19th century and start over again to allow women, blacks, non-land holders to vote?

Posted by: senile on 06/24/06 at 6:35 AM

In reference to Congressman Westmoreland's problem w/voting rights, do we need to go back to the 19th century and start over again to allow women, blacks, non-land holders to vote?

Posted by: senile on 06/24/06 at 6:37 AM

Why is anyone surprised? The only people in the Western World that are not aware that democracy is long dead in the usa are the throughly bullshitted american lumpenproletariot. Change will come only in the streets and americans wont give up their tv time to re-establish democracy.

Posted by: garry walsh on 06/24/06 at 6:51 AM

Along with Alito the Bush Repub nazi neocons are well on their way to erode and eventually take away our votes.

Leo Strauss and Irving Kristol want to do to America the very thing that was done by Hitler in Germany. These people are nazi-fascist haters of America. These people are also antisemites. And don't tell me they are Jews because even Jews can hate America and democracy and American Jews.

Given enough time these people will destroy America and plunge the world into more wars possibly even another world war.

And on it goes---

Bob Damico
Cleve, Oh

Posted by: Bob DAmico on 06/24/06 at 11:39 AM

Congress is so willing to vote for bills regardless of what ugly pork barrel things have been tacked on, then something as important and BASIC as the Voting Rights Law is "delayed" for so-called major faults. They can fix the so-called problems with an amendment and get the job done. They choose, however, to phoney up an excuse and serve their irresponsible selves. Thank God the American people are waking up and speaking out!

Posted by: Phyllis Zeh on 06/28/06 at 11:04 AM