African Americans will not lose the right to vote in 2007. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. presents the facts and challenges this widely circulating myth.

Myths are circulating that African Americans will lose their right to vote in 2007, or that the Voting Rights Act expires in 2007. These rumors are false. The right of African Americans and of all citizens to vote free of discrimination based on race or color is guaranteed by the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and does not expire.

The Voting Rights Act itself, which was enacted by Congress to enforce the right to vote without discrimination, does not expire. However, certain important provisions of the Voting Rights Act, which have enhanced the opportunities for African Americans and other minority groups to vote effectively, will expire if not renewed by Congress in 2007. The 2007 reauthorization process is a critical opportunity for those who believe in greater political participation to mobilize.

What Happens in 2007?

In 2007, certain "special provisions" of the Voting Rights Act that were enacted to address discriminatory voting practices, and the present effects of those practices, could expire if not renewed by Congress. These provisions include:

• Section 5: The federal pre-clearance of voting changes provisions, which requires covered jurisdictions to prove that voting changes are not discriminatory before they may legally take effect;
• Section 4: The coverage provision, which determines which states and jurisdictions must seek Section 5 pre-clearance. The coverage formula reaches states and jurisdictions with some of the most active histories of discrimination;
• Section(s) 6-9: The Federal Examiner/Observer provisions, which set forth criteria for election monitoring by the Department of Justice, and;
• Section 203: The bilingual voting materials provisions, which mandate that certain voting materials must be translated for language minorities in certain jurisdictions.

What You Can Do

During this reauthorization process, the Congress, and individuals and organizations concerned with maintaining the protections that the Voting Rights Act provides, will have an opportunity to present the evidence necessary to support renewal of the "special provisions" of the Voting Rights Act. In the meantime, all eligible voters should register, confirm their registration status, and exercise the right to vote so that the long struggle to expand the franchise yields meaningful results.

The right to vote is among the most fundamental rights we enjoy as citizens of the United States. However, during most of this country's existence, African Americans were denied the right to participate in the electoral process. The history of the long struggle to secure voting rights for African Americans has contributed significantly to efforts to open the nation's democratic process. Passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, collectively has strengthened the voting rights of African Americans, other minority voters, and Americans as a whole. Although the struggle for full and effective minority voting rights is still ongoing, the right to vote will not expire in 2007.

In 2007, the "special provisions" of the Voting Rights Act that were enacted to address discriminatory voting practices, and the continuing effects of those practices in many of the jurisdictions where discrimination was especially severe, could expire if not renewed by Congress. These provisions include:

Section 5 -- certain jurisdictions with a history of discrimination in voting -- including much of the southern United States and three counties in New York City -- are required to submit to the federal government for pre-approval any law which affects voting in order to ensure that the law is not racially discriminatory. The jurisdictions bear the burden of demonstrating that the proposed law is not discriminatory. This process is called preclearance.

For example, Section 5 states are required to submit changes to voting districts (redistricting plans), changes in the location of polling places, changes affecting voter registration, and changes affecting eligibility or qualifications for voting and running for office. Section 5 is an effective tool for preventing further discrimination because it allows harmful voting laws and practices to be rejected before they take effect. It also deters covered jurisdictions, which recognize that they will have to defend voting changes formally, from pursuing discriminatory enactments or practices.

Section 203 -- the bilingual voting materials provisions -- require jurisdictions to provide translated election materials and bilingual ballots in jurisdictions with significant language minority populations who have limited English proficiency and higher rates of illiteracy than the general population. Without bilingual voting materials, voters with limited English language proficiency could be effectively shut out of the electoral process.

Since 1965, when the Voting Rights Act was passed, Congress has reviewed Section 5 periodically to make sure that its protections continue to be necessary. Each time that Section 5 has come before Congress for renewal, Congress has determined that it is still necessary to have the federal government review voting changes for covered jurisdictions. Similarly, in 1992 Congress expanded Section 203 and renewed its protections until 2007.

The last time Congress reviewed Section 5 was in 1982, when it voted to extend the provision until 2007. So, by 2007, Congress will revisit the need to continue Section 5, and some of the other "special provisions" of the Voting Rights Act, including Section 203.

During this reauthorization process, the Congress, and individuals and organizations concerned with maintaining the protections that the Voting Rights Act provides, will have an opportunity to present the evidence necessary to support renewal of the "special provisions" of the Voting Rights Act. In the meantime, all eligible voters should register, confirm their registration status, and exercise the right to vote so that the long struggle to expand the franchise yields meaningful results.

By Janai S. Nelson

The marches, protests, and demonstrations of the 60s brought into focus America's unkept promises and showed the world that large segments of the American public were ready to force change, even if their lives depended on it.

Forty years later, as we commemorate two key turning points in the civil rights movement-Bloody Sunday and passage of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), the civil rights legislation summoned from the brutality and righteousness of the march for Black suffrage-we must ask ourselves what has changed and what remains to be done.

The scorecard borne from such forward thinking, life-risking times is filled with countless successes. But, have we achieved the full promise of the VRA and the struggle that led to its passage? Sadly, we must say no.

The Voting Rights Act passed just six months after the tragic events of March 7, 1965, on Edmund Pettus bridge, ended literacy tests, precipitated thousands of new Black voter registrations under government protection, and created a federal cause of action against efforts to deny the vote to African Americans or any citizen on the basis of their race or ethnicity.

As a result of the VRA, the number of Black elected officials in this country increased nearly fivefold within five years after its passage. Today, there are over 9000 Black elected officials, 43 of whom serve in Congress. Most of these elected officials are from electoral districts created or protected under the VRA where minorities form a majority of the voters. These are accomplishments of which we as a nation can be proud.

However, what remains to be done is as daunting as the advances have been great. What stands before us is a threat to roll back the accomplishments of the VRA and the civil rights movement. The most immediate and important issue to contend with is the reauthorization of special provisions of the Voting Rights Act. Unlike the false rumors that have circulated since 1998 that Black people will lose their right to vote in 2007, what Black people and other minorities stand to lose if these provisions are not reauthorized are the core protections of the VRA that give it any meaning at all.

The VRA provisions up for renewal prevent jurisdictions with a history of discrimination from adopting new voting practices without first seeking government approval, require translated voting materials and other bilingual elections assistance to language minorities in certain areas, and require the government to send official election observers and registrars to jurisdictions where there is a demonstrated need. These provisions have strengthened the voting power and participation of African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans in important and tangible ways by increasing their numbers in elected office and creating deterrents to discriminatory action against voters by the threat of government prosecution.

Today, Latinos and Asians are the fastest growing segments of the population, representing almost 19 percent of the nation's total population. This fact bears witness to the need to preserve the language provisions of the VRA to ensure full access to the ballot for language minorities.

The pre-clearance provision, known as Section 5 of the VRA, has played a critical role in protecting Black voting rights, particularly in jurisdictions with a history of discrimination. The need for this provision is as evident today as in 1965. For example, since the VRA's passage, every plan submitted by Louisiana to redraw the State's electoral districts has been rejected by a federal Court and/or the Department of Justice, and frequently challenged by civil rights groups as discriminatory. Without Section 5, the burden of proof that a new voting law will not dilute African-American voting strength, whether intended or not, will shift from the state or local government to the people whose collective voice will be lost at the polls before a remedy can be implemented.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its subsequent amendments were passed to dismantle barriers and provide federal protections to guard against state laws that have the effect of disfranchising Blacks and other minorities. Indeed, we owe it to the martyrs of the movement, the hopes of the next generation, and most of all, to the future of American democracy to fulfill the promise of the VRA and the human sacrifice that led to its passage. Our commemoration of these important events must begin with action and end only in full victory

Janai S. Nelson
March 2, 2005