New Report: Voting Rights Act Protections Still Needed in Louisiana
Feature Story by Tyler Lewis - 4/12/2006
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) continues to remove barriers to voting for many Louisiana residents, according to a new report on the state of voting rights in the state by RenewtheVRA.org, a collaboration of national organizations that is examining the Voting Rights Act in the 24 years since its last full reauthorization.The VRA, considered the most successful civil rights legislation ever enacted, prohibits discrimination based on race.
Three key provisions of the VRA will expire in August 2007 if Congress does not act now to renew them: Section 5, which requires preclearance of voting changes in states and localities with a history of voting discrimination, Section 203, which require counties where more than 5 percent of citizens are not native English speakers to provide language assistance, and Sections 6-9, which authorize the Department of Justice to send federal examiners and observers to monitor elections.
The entire state of Louisiana is covered under Section 5.
"The importance of Section 5's federal oversight in Louisiana cannot be overstated," said Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. According to the report, every one of Louisiana's initial proposals for statewide redistricting for the House of Representatives since 1965 has been stopped by the Department of Justice (DOJ) because it would have worsened the position of minority voters.
Since the VRA was last renewed in 1982, DOJ has stopped proposed discriminatory changes in voting practices or procedures 96 times in Louisiana.
As a result of Section 5 coverage in Louisiana, the report found that the VRA has been, and continues to be, critically important in guaranteeing Louisiana's minority voters' ability to register and vote, and in empowering minority communities to elect candidates of their choice.
The report also examines the impact of Hurricane Katrina on Louisiana and the unique challenges it will provide to the state in ensuring voting rights for its minority residents.
In testimony to the House Subcommittee on the Constitution on March 8, Henderson stated, "The recent national attention on New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina presents a new opportunity to evaluate the necessity of minority voter protections at the same time that it brings renewed focus to a city that has consistently seen efforts to weaken minority voting rights."
"The immediate and potential long-term implications of Hurricane Katrina on Louisiana's African-American electorate provide a useful reminder of why the VRA is essential if Louisiana is to continue its slow climb toward full political equality for its African-American citizens," he continued.
The RenewtheVRA.org collaborative includes such groups as the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, ACLU, and Asian American Justice Center. A full listing of collaborative members can be found at www.renewthevra.org.
