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American Government Lecture Eleven (view source)
Revision as of 18:26, January 1, 2013
, 18:26, January 1, 2013→The Voting Rights Act of 1965: expanded
== The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ==
== The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ==
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is one of the most important and burdensome of all federal laws. Enacted pursuant to the 15th Amendment (which prohibits discrimination in voting laws), the Voting Rights Act requires pre-clearance by the U.S. Department of Justice of any changes in election laws by certain states and local government. Most of the States covered by the Voting Rights Act are in the South (including Florida and Texas), while some of the counties are located in unexpected places around the Nation (including New York).
The basis for the law and where it applies is this: if there is an evidence of racial discrimination in how elections are run by a State or local government, then it can be designated as subject to the Voting Rights Act for future elections.
You might be surprised what is considered to be racial discrimination that triggers application of the Voting Rights Act for all future elections. In Texas, officials did not print a Spanish version of the ballot in one election, and that was considered to be racial discrimination triggering application of the Voting Rights Act for all future elections. Indeed, ballots now have to be printed at enormous local expense in numerous foreign languages, or else the Voting Rights Act could be applied against the state or local government.
The Voting Rights Act requires "pre-clearance" by the U.S. Department of Justice for any changes in election law by a state or local government that is covered by the Act. When South Carolina passed its voter ID law, the Voting Rights Act gave the Obama Administration the power to delay and object to the law, because South Carolina is covered by the Voting Rights Act. Even though there is nothing racial about the voter ID law, the Voting Rights Act has been used to prevent its implementation by States in several areas of the Nation.
Florida attempted to trim back its early voting period for the last election, but the Obama Administration used the Voting Rights Act to object to that. The U.S. Constitution gives the federal government extraordinary powers of "pre-clearance" before any area subject to the Voting Rights Act changes its election laws.
These areas of the Nation are subject to the Voting Rights Act (note that New Jersey is not subject to it):
== Busing ==
== Busing ==