THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT: WE'VE COME A LONG WAY BUT MUST REMAIN DILIGIENT

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was signed into law by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. The Act was passed during a time in which we saw African-Americans often being intimidated, and sometimes murdered, for voting or assisting their fellow citizens into registering to vote. The basis for the law was to put legal teeth into the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed in 1870 during the Reconstruction period following the Civil War:

Section. 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Section. 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Thanks to the Voting Rights Act, minorities have earned their place to be fully represented with the election of record numbers of African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans at all levels of government. There is still a way to go, but we've come a long way since the "bad old days" prior to 1965.

However, we must continue to be diligent. While the right of minorities to vote are permanently guarenteed by the Constitution and the Act, key provisions of the law are set to expire in two years.

Most notably, the authorization of the Attorney General to send federal examiners into areas to register minorities where the local elections supervisor refuses to do so, and to send federal monitors into areas to insure that minority citizens are allowed to vote and that their votes are actually counted, are part of those "sunsetting" provisions. Those parts of the law should remain.

One part of the law that I believe should be allowed to expire requires those states and/or political subdivisions which have prior to the Act had a history of discrimination to gain prior approval from the Department of Justice any planned changes in voting practices or procedures. Many of those areas, mainly in the South, now have a substantial number of minority officeholders on the local and state level who would strongly oppose any attempt to step backwards. Also, even if this provision were to expire, it can be reinstated by court order if it is shown that discrimination has in any way resumed.

And, even in this administration, we're seeing that the DOJ is responding to complaints of discriminatory practices with the recent lawsuit filed against Osceola County (and very likely Kissimmee soon).

The Tallahassee Democrat's Nancy Cook Lauer looks at just how far we have come in Florida, and some of the work that still needs to be done...especially in getting those who got the right to vote through blood, sweat, and tears to stop taking that right for granted. And that's not only among minorities, but throughout the population.