The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. §§ 1973–1973bb-1)[7]:372 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting.[8][9] It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the American Civil Rights Movement on August 6, 1965, and Congress later amended the Act five times to expand its protections.[8] Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Act allowed for a mass enfranchisement of racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Act is considered to be the most effective piece of civil rights legislation ever enacted in the country.[10] The Act contains numerous provisions that regulate the administration of elections. The Acts general provisions provide nationwide protections for voting rights. Section 2, for instance, prohibits any state or local government from imposing any voting law that results in discrimination against racial or language minorities. Additionally, the Act specifically outlaws literacy tests and similar devices that were historically used to disenfranchise racial minorities. The Act also contains special provisions that apply to only certain jurisdictions. A core special provision is the Section 5 preclearance requirement, which prohibits certain jurisdictions from implementing any change affecting voting without receiving preapproval from the U.S. Attorney General or the U.S. District Court for D.C. that the change does not discriminate against protected minorities.[11] Another special provision requires jurisdictions containing significant language minority populations to provide bilingual ballots and other election materials. Section 5 and most other special provisions apply to jurisdictions encompassed by the coverage formula prescribed in Section 4(b). The coverage formula was originally designed to encompass jurisdictions that engaged in the most egregious voting discrimination in 1965, and Congress updated the formula in 1970 and 1975. In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the coverage formula as unconstitutional, reasoning that it was no longer responsive to current conditions.[12] The Court did not strike down Section 5, but without Section 4(b), no jurisdiction may be subject to Section 5 preclearance unless Congress enacts a new coverage formula.[13] An act to enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes. Acronyms (colloquial) VRA Nicknames Voting Rights Act Enacted by the 89th United States Congress Effective August 6, 1965 Citations Public Law 89-110 Statutes at Large 79 Stat. 437 Codification Titles amended 42—The Public Health and Welfare U.S.C. sections created 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973–1973bb-1 Legislative history Introduced in the Senate as S. 1564 by Mike Mansfield (D–MT) and Everett Dirksen (R–IL) on March 17, 1965 Committee consideration by Judiciary Passed the Senate on May 26, 1965 (77-19) Passed the House with amendment on July 9, 1965 (333-85) Reported by the joint conference committee on July 29, 1965; agreed to by the House on August 3, 1965 (328-74) and by the Senate on August 4, 1965 (79-18) Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965 Major amendments Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970[1] Voting Rights Act of 1965, Amendments of 1975[2] Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982[3] Voting Rights Language Assistance Act of 1992[4] Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, César E. Chávez, Barbara C. Jordan, William C. Velásquez, and Dr. Hector P. Garcia Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006[5][6] United States Supreme Court cases South Carolina v. Katzenbach (1966) Katzenbach v. Morgan (1966) Allen v. State Board of Election (1969) Oregon v. Mitchell (1970) Beer v. United States (1976) Rome v. United States (1980) Mobile v. Bolden (1980) Thornburg v. Gingles (1986) Growe v. Emison (1993) Voinovich v. Quilter (1993) Shaw v. Reno (1993) Holder v. Hall (1994) Johnson v. De Grandy (1994) Miller v. Johnson (1995) Bush v. Vera (1996) Lopez v. Monterey County (1999) Reno v. Bossier Parish School Board (2000) Georgia v. Ashcroft (2003) League of United Latin American Citizens v. Perry (2006) Bartlett v. Strickland (2009) Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder (2009) Shelby County v. Holder (2013)
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 09:51:24 +0000
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