Assemblyman Leland Yee: 39th
Anniversary of Voting Rights Act
This summer, we have been celebrating the 39th anniversary
of the passage and signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Signed into law to prevent discrimination against minorities
at the polls, the landmark legislation dramatically altered
American life by playing a leading role in curtailing the
discriminatory practices that for years prevented millions
of Americans from exercising their right to vote solely because
of their ethnicity and the color of their skin.
We need to recognize the importance of the Voting Rights
Act by promoting increased participation in the electoral
process by all California citizens, especially African-Americans,
Latinos, Asian-Americans and other racial groups who have
been historically under represented in the voting process,
as the controversies surrounding the 2000 presidential election
pointed out. We cannot have even the appearance of such a
conflict in what appears to be a very close election this
year.
The Voting Rights Act was specifically designed to eliminate
or "suspend ... the use of literacy tests and similar
devices as prerequisites to registration and voting and to
provide for the appointment of federal examiners to register
persons who meet valid state voting requirements."
It authorized the U.S. attorney general to send federal examiners
to register black voters and suspended all literacy tests
in states in which less than 50 percent of the voting-aged
population had been registered or had voted in the 1964 general
election.
The Voting Rights Act also:
• Prohibited the use of residency requirements to prevent
citizens from voting for the president and vice-president
of the United States;
• Gave federal courts the authority to impose the special
provisions of the act in jurisdictions that were not already
covered;
• Required the appointment of federal observers to
monitor elections in jurisdictions covered under the special
provisions of the act;
• Required pre-clearance with the federal government
for plans to redistrict or change voting and registration
laws in jurisdictions covered by the special provisions; and
• Required certain jurisdictions to provide assistance
to non-English-speaking citizens during voter registration
and elections and to publish information on voting and voter
registration in languages other than English.
Voting rights expanded tremendously with the enactment of
the Voting Rights Act, which brought voting equality, under
the law, to all Americans. Even today, however, there are
too many Americans still fighting to curtail some of their
fellow Americans from exercising their right to vote. In California,
we have seen poll guards standing near voting booths intimidating
voters of Latino descent. In the presidential election of
2000, there were reports of intimidation tactics being used
in Florida to keep citizens of color from voting.
The 1965 law's suspension of literacy tests and other discriminatory
voter qualifications applied to all states and counties in
which less than 50 percent of the 1964 voting-age population
was registered. A total of seven such states were affected:
Alaska Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina
and Virginia. There were also 26 counties in North Carolina
and one county in Arizona (which had a large number of Apache
Indians) covered by the special provisions of the act.
The new voting rights law had an immediate impact. By the
end of the first year of its enactment, more than 250,000
African-Americans had registered to vote. One-third of them
were registered by federal examiners. During the first five
months of enforcement, registration of African-Americans in
the south increased by more than 40 percent.
Today, in California, new citizens from Mexico, Central America
and Asia are registering in record numbers.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was readopted and strengthened
in 1970, 1975 and 1982.
I hope that, in the future, the Department of Justice will
pursue vigorous enforcement of the act.
I also think Congress should continue to expand and improve
all laws relating to voting rights until complete equality
at the polls is a reality.
During close elections, we cannot allow certain citizens
to remain disenfranchised during the voting process. Each
of us has a duty to ensure that the goal of total equality
at the polls is reached by this year's Nov. 2 election. We
can do so by going to our county Registrar of Voters' office
to pick up registration cards and make sure that everyone
we know registers and exercises their right to vote.
Leland Yee, the speaker pro tempore at the California Assembly,
represents the 12th Assembly District.
