“For 48 years, the Voting Rights Act has protected minorities’ right to vote. However, many people, including the U.S. Supreme Court Justices that turned down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, assert that our country has changed, and that the Voting Rights Act is no longer needed. Although voter intimidation today may not be as blatant as poll taxes or literacy tests, it still exists in more devious forms, such as burdensome voter ID laws that aim to oppress minorities. A prime example for the need of the Voting Rights Act is Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott’s swift decision to enforce voter ID laws immediately following the Supreme Court’s ruling. Texas has a long and detailed history of voter suppression, and Attorney General Abbott is continuing down the same path. He is an elected official that should be looking out for all Texans, but his recent decisions indicate that minorities are not included. The minority population does not only include African Americans and Hispanics, but also the elderly and those that live in the most rural parts of the country. The Voting Rights Act will remain relevant and necessary, as it was in 1965, until all Americans are able to cast their ballots without fear of suppression.” - Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson is serving her 13th term representing the 30th Congressional District of Texas. Johnson is widely recognized as one of the most effective legislators in Congress and is credited with originally authoring or co-authoring, sponsoring or co-sponsoring more than 821 bills that were passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by the President.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Congresswoman Johnson Marks The 48th Anniversary Of The Voting Rights Act
“For 48 years, the Voting Rights Act has protected minorities’ right to vote. However, many people, including the U.S. Supreme Court Justices that turned down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, assert that our country has changed, and that the Voting Rights Act is no longer needed. Although voter intimidation today may not be as blatant as poll taxes or literacy tests, it still exists in more devious forms, such as burdensome voter ID laws that aim to oppress minorities. A prime example for the need of the Voting Rights Act is Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott’s swift decision to enforce voter ID laws immediately following the Supreme Court’s ruling. Texas has a long and detailed history of voter suppression, and Attorney General Abbott is continuing down the same path. He is an elected official that should be looking out for all Texans, but his recent decisions indicate that minorities are not included. The minority population does not only include African Americans and Hispanics, but also the elderly and those that live in the most rural parts of the country. The Voting Rights Act will remain relevant and necessary, as it was in 1965, until all Americans are able to cast their ballots without fear of suppression.” - Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson