Washington, D.C. – Citing growing concerns about the delays, Congressman G.K. Butterfield has asked the House Majority Leader to bring reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act to a vote.
“During the last 40 years, America has made strides toward ensuring the protection of every American’s right to vote,” Butterfield said. “The Voting Rights Act has been a cornerstone of that progress. To weaken or delay reauthorization of this important and historic legislation expresses the willingness to step back in time.”
Today, Butterfield sent a written request to House Majority Leader John A. Boehner urging that the bi-partisan legislation be promptly scheduled for a House vote.
Congress originally passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965 in response to widespread evidence of disenfranchisement of black citizens in several southern states. It protects the rights of citizens to vote primarily by forbidding covered states from using tests of any kind to determine eligibility to vote, by requiring these states to obtain federal approval before enacting any election laws and by assigning federal officials to monitor the registration process in certain localities.
The reauthorizing legislation has 152 House co-sponsors, including Butterfield, and was approved by the House Judiciary Committee by a 33 to 1 vote. It appeared that the legislation would move quickly toward vote by the full House until last month when some southern legislators sought and won a delay, according to media reports.
Butterfield said that he is deeply troubled by the delay, and said he feels strongly that a vote needs to take place soon.
“More than 8,000 pages of documentation which describe recent discriminatory voting practices were submitted to the House Judiciary Committee during its debate on the bill,” Butterfield said. “The need for these protections remains plain and clear. Unfortunately, the election process continues to be abused – through redistricting schemes, last minute changes of polling locations and outright restrictions on registration for some eligible voters.”
Butterfield said that the Voting Rights Act provides an effective mechanism for courts and the Justice Department to address practices that are racially motivated.
“Sadly, racial conflict remains a part of life,” Butterfield said. “We must ensure that this vital protection remains in place to defend people against racial abuses.”
(Text of letter follows on the next page.)