WP: A Push to Extend Voting Rights Act

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/09/AR2005070901285.html

Rep. Sensenbrenner Tells NAACP He Will Work to Renew Provisions of Law

By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 10, 2005; Page A05

House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) plans to announce today at the NAACP's annual convention that he will work to extend portions of the Voting Rights Act that are scheduled to expire in 2007, congressional aides said yesterday.

Civil rights leaders recently reminded President Bush about the expiring passages and have been working to get congressional leaders' attention for the issue. Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman has made outreach to minorities and support for enforcement of the Voting Rights Act a hallmark of his chairmanship.

Some blacks have continued to express resentment toward Republicans after problems they said they encountered in voting in the 2000 and 2004 elections. Bush improved his performance among black voters from about 9 percent in his first election to at least 11 percent last November, according to exit polls.

Sensenbrenner, speaking to a plenary session at the NAACP's 96th annual convention in Milwaukee, said he will work to make sure the extensions are passed during the current two-year Congress.

a hypocritical hoax. Why isn't it a permanent provision of the law?

but it needs to apply to the entire nation.

the expiring parts have to do with (Southern) states with a history of voter discrimination. Any changes to laws involving voting in these states must be reviewed by the US Justice Department before being enacted. They expire because there is the presumption that eventually these states will begin to treat all voters equally, more like the rest of the country (recent elections excepted).

Alas, here in Georgia, the progressive beacon of the South, the election code was recently overhauled and the forms of identification required to vote were reduced to: a government issued photo id. What may be worse, there is no longer the right to fill out a provisional ballot if you do not have the id. No id, not ballot. This law is not in effect yet because the US Justice Deprtment must review it first.

To me, this is a blatant voter suppression effort sponsored, supported and passed by Republicans. There is NO evidence that people are showing up to vote and representing themselves as someone else. In the past, if there was any problem, you fill out a provisional ballot and the election board verifies your eligibility. Big deal. There is no problem here. The Republicans are trying to minimize or eliminate the vote of elderly urban citizens, married working women (whose id's may not match up because of a name change), students, apartment dwellers, immigrants, and environmentalists (who perhaps don't have a drivers license). These are all people who are less likely to automatically have the required id or are less likely to be able to go out of their way to get the required id, or who are more likely to have discrepancies with their address or name. And they all vote predominantly Democratic.

It doesn't have to be "renewed", it has to be renewed. We're not a "democracy", we're a democracy, or, at least, an analog to the actual definition.

The fact that it has to be renewed is utterl unrelated to the structure of the gov't, and has zero to do with hypocrisy.

they asked him whether he'd renew the Voting Rights Bill. * looked flummoxed and stammered something like, "I'll have to get back to you on that." They were all dumbstruck. He obviously didn't even know what it was.

to rehabilitate himself.

They need to ask him why he treated Rep. John Conyers so shabbily over the DSM matter....and why he acted like a 2 year old during the Patriot(Not) Act hearings.

Here are some of Tex's ratings on Civil rights issues:

http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=H4340103

Civil Rights
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2004 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the Arab American Institute 0 percent in 2004.

2003-2004 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the Human Rights Campaign 0 percent in 2003-2004.

2003-2004 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 23 percent in 2003-2004.

2003-2004 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 11 percent in 2003-2004.

2003 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the Arab American Institute 0 percent in 2003.

2003 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 22 percent in 2003.

2003 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 15 percent in 2003.

2001-2002 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda 17 percent in 2001-2002.

2001-2002 Based on the votes, and co-sponsorships the Human Rights Campaign considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Representative Sensenbrenner voted their preferred position 17 percent of the time..

2001-2002 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 8 percent in 2001-2002.

2001-2002 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 33 percent in 2001-2002.

2001-2002 Bsed on legislative votes, sponsorship of legislation not voted upon, and endorsements of special "dear colleague" letters that the Arab American Institute considered to be the most important in 2001-2002, Representative Sensenbrenner supported their preferred position 25 percent of the time.

2001 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 36 percent in 2001.

2001 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the Human Rights Campaign 17 percent in 2001.

2001 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda 9 percent in 2001.

2000 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda 50 percent in 2000.

2000 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 33 percent in 2000.

1999-2000 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the Human Rights Campaign 10 percent in 1999-2000.

1999-2000 Representative Sensenbrenner supported the interests of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 25 percent in 1999-2000.

1997-1998 On the votes that the Campaign for a Color Blind America considered to be the most important in 1997-1998, Representative Sensenbrenner voted their preferred position 100 percent of the time.

Perhaps Senselessbummer can put his $$ where is big fat mouth is and address the violations of the Voting Rights Act that occurred most heavily and overtly in Ohio '04 and the subsequent sham of an investigation run by AG Gonzales' office that chose to ignore the evidence.

http://www.bradblog.com/archives/00001512.htm


I hope Rep.Conyers appears at the NAACP convention and challenges Senselessbummer to address these crimes both within the Judiciary Committee, and by openly pressuring the AG's office to do it's job.

Maybe it could be on pay per view!!:evilgrin: