Constitution Subcommittee Oversight Hearing on Sec. 4 of the Voting Rights

Constitution Subcommittee Oversight Hearing Thursday on Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=55289

What: Oversight hearing entitled, "An Examination of the Scope and Criteria for Coverage Under the Special Provisions of the Voting Rights Act"

Who: Subcommittee on the Constitution - Rep. Steve Chabot (R- Ohio), chairman

When: 10 a.m., Thursday, October 20

Where: 2141 Rayburn Building, Washington D.C.

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-- Through Section 4, Congress targeted those states and political subdivisions with a history of discriminating against minority citizens and prohibited them from using literacy tests and other devices to deny citizens the right to vote.

-- Congress has temporarily extended Section 4 three separate times after determining that discrimination continued to exist. It is on these findings that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of Section 4 and the provisions it triggers.

This Hearing Will...

-- Examine the scope and criteria for coverage under VRA including the bailout process in Section 4.