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Press Release

LULAC Applauds Historical Bipartisan Agreement of Republicans and Democrats to Reauthorize the Voting Rights Act and the Significance of Naming the Bill after 3 Heroines of the Civil Rights Era.

May 9, 2006

Contact: Lizette Jenness Olmos
202-833-6130 ext. 14

Washington, DC – The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) congratulates Congress, in the House and Senate, for their leadership in coming together to introduce H.R. 9, The Voting Right Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 (VRARA) the bipartisan historical piece of legislation called, “Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006.”   

The VRARA renews and restores key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, set to expire in 2007 which for 40 years has served as a powerful tool to combat electoral discrimination against Latinos and other ethnic and racial minorities. If passed, would continue to ensure free and open access to the polls for next generation of Americans. 

 “This is a historic piece of legislation and with bipartisan support to renew the Voting Rights Act which guarantees that no person can be denied the right to vote on the grounds of race or color. We are proud that our elected officials understand the importance of renewing this critical piece of legislation but also enhancing the opportunities of people to vote and not being excluded from the voting process and being able to run for elected positions,” said LULAC National President Hector M. Flores, “ LULAC promotes active participation of all eligible Hispanics in the democratic process by registering to vote and voting, and encourages all legislative, judicial and educational efforts to promote voter participation and advocacy.” 

The three key parts of the VRA that are set to expire in 2007 unless reauthorized include:

• Section 5 of the Act which requires certain jurisdictions to obtain approval (or “preclearance”) from the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court in D.C. before they can put into effect any changes to voting practices or procedures. Under the statute, federal approval requires proof that the proposed change does “not have the purpose and will not have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color [or membership in a language minority group].”

• Section 203 of the Act which requires certain jurisdictions to provide bilingual language assistance to voters in communities where there is a concentration of citizens who are limited English proficient. This provision was added to the VRA in 1975.

• The portions of Sections 6-9 of the Act which authorize the federal government to send federal election examiners and observers to certain jurisdictions covered by Section 5 where there is evidence of attempts to intimidate minority voters at the poll.

The cosponsors of the bill include: House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Representatives Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and John Conyers (D-MI), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Representatives Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Melvin Watt (D-NC), Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Patrick Leahy, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senators Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA). 

For more information about LULAC’s campaign to renew the Voting Rights Act, visit our web site at www.lulac.org.

The League of the United Latin American Citizen (www.lulac.org) advances the economic conditions, educational attainment, political influence, health and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide.

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