The Most Fundamental Right

Description

Do the rights of minority voters still need Federal protection?

Read an excerpt from the book

Passed in 1965 during the height of the Civil Rights movement, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) changed the face of the American electorate, dramatically increasing minority voting, especially in the South. While portions of the Act are permanent, certain provisions were set to expire in 2007. Reauthorization of these provisions passed by a wide margin in the House, and unanimously in the Senate, but the lopsided tally hid a deep and growing conflict. The Most Fundamental Right is an effort to understand the debate over the Act and its role in contemporary American democracy. Is the VRA the cornerstone of civil rights law that prevents unfair voting practices, or is it an anachronism that no longer serves American democracy? Divided into three sections, the book utilizes a point/counterpoint approach. Section 1 explains the legal and political context of the Act, providing important background for what follows; Section 2 pairs three debates concerning specific provisions or applications of the Act; while Section 3 offers commentaries on the previous chapters from attorneys with widely divergent viewpoints.

Preface
Section I: The Political and Legal Context of the Voting Rights Act
1. Meaningful Votes \Daniel McCool
2. The Constitutional Foundations of the "Pre-Clearance" Process: How Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act Was Enforced, 1965-2005 \Peyton McCrary
3. Influence District and the Courts: A Concept in Need of Clarity \Richard Engstrom
Section II: The Debate
4. The Bull Connor Is Dead Myth: Or Why We Need Strong, Effectively Enforced Voting Rights Laws \Laughlin McDonald
5. Bull Connor is Long Dead: Let's Move On \Abigail Thernstrom
6. The Voting Rights Act in South Dakota: One Litigator's Perspective on Reauthorization \Bryan Sells
7. Realistic Expectations: South Dakota's Experience with the Voting Rights Act \Chris Nelson
8. The Continuing Need for the Language Assistance Provisions of the Voting Rights Act \James Thomas Tucker
9. Policy and Constitutional Objections to Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act \Roger Clegg
Section Three: Commentary
10. After NAMUDNO: The Shape of Future Litigation \Edward Blum
11. Looking Backward to and Forward from the 2006 Voting Rights Act Reauthorization \Debo Adegbile

Sujets

• Political Process
• Election Law
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Droit et juridique
• News
• Politics Magazine
• Politics
• LAW
• United States
• Discrimination

Informations

• Publié par: Indiana University Press
• Date de parution: 17 octobre 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780253007100
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Most Fundamental Right
The Most Fundamental Right

EDITED BY Daniel McCool
This book is a publication of
INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA
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2012 by Indiana University Press
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition.
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Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cataloging information is available from the Library of Congress. ISBN 978-0-253-00192-4 (cloth : alk paper) ISBN 978-0-253-00194-8 (pbk : alk paper) ISBN 978-0-253-00710-0 (ebook)
1 2 3 4 5 17 16 15 14 13 12
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THE AMERICAN VOTER .
AMENDMENT XV
Section 1 .
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2 .
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Contents
PREFACE
PART 1
THE POLITICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT 1
Meaningful Votes Daniel McCool 2
The Constitutional Foundations of the Preclearance Process: How Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act Was Enforced, 1965-2005 Peyton McCrary 3
Influence District and the Courts: A Concept in Need of Clarity Richard L. Engstrom
PART 2
THE DEBATE 4
The Bull Connor Is Dead Myth: Or Why We Need Strong, Effectively Enforced Voting Rights Laws Laughlin McDonald 5
Bull Connor Is Long Dead: Let s Move On Abigail Thernstrom 6
The Voting Rights Act in South Dakota: One Litigator s Perspective on Reauthorization Bryan L. Sells 7
Realistic Expectations: South Dakota s Experience with the Voting Rights Act Chris Nelson 8
The Continuing Need for the Language-Assistance Provisions of the Voting Rights Act James Thomas Tucker 9
Policy and Constitutional Objections to Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act Roger Clegg
PART 3
COMMENTARY 10
After NAMUDNO : The Shape of Future Litigation Edward Blum 11
Looking Backward to and Forward from the 2006 Voting Rights Act Reauthorization Debo P. Adegbile
CONTRIBUTORS
INDEX
Preface
The initial impetus for this book was a forum on voting rights at the University of Utah in 2006, sponsored by Rocco Siciliano. Mr. Siciliano has more than a passing interest in voting rights and minority issues. As an advisor to President Eisenhower, Rocco set up a meeting in 1958 between the president and civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr. It was an auspicious moment. One of the topics they discussed was voting rights, according to Siciliano s autobiography, Walking on Sand . We are indebted to Rocco for his many years of public service and for his sponsorship of the Siciliano Forum. We also want to thank the College of Social and Behavioral Science at the University of Utah, a cosponsor of the Siciliano Forum on Voting Rights.
This book presents a lively debate among leading experts on the Voting Rights Act. It is important to note that all the authors are in agreement on one central idea: that elections should be free and fair to all people, regardless of race or ethnicity. Indeed, the reason why these authors became involved in the debate over the Voting Rights Act is because they care passionately about our elections and how to achieve that sometimes elusive goal of fairness. There are few if any fair-minded people today who are opposed to the original 1965 Voting Rights Act; we all understand that it was desperately needed at that time. The different perspectives presented here concern the contemporary application and enforcement of that act and its future directions. This is especially true of the renewable sections of the act, which continue to engender debate and litigation.
The book is divided into three sections. The first section provides an overview of the historical, legal, and political context of the Voting Rights Act (the VRA ). In the first chapter I describe the basic outlines of the VRA and its development over time. Peyton McCrary explains the significance of preclearance in chapter 2 , and Richard Engstrom describes the role of influence districts in the implementation of the VRA in chapter 3 . In the second section the chapters are presented in pairs; each pair includes contrasting perspectives on a particular aspect of the VRA. Laughlin McDonald and Abigail Thernstrom present contrasting perspectives on the contemporary VRA in chapters 4 and 5 . The following two chapters are concerned with the voting rights of American Indians, with a focus on South Dakota, which has seen the most litigation. Bryan Sells, in chapter 6 , presents the view of a litigator who has represented tribal members in numerous cases; Chris Nelson presents a view from the state of South Dakota. The final pairing focuses on the language provisions in the VRA. James Tucker argues in favor of the language provisions in chapter 8 , and Roger Clegg takes an opposing stance in chapter 9 . The final section of the book provides an overview of the debate over the VRA and its potential future impact from two very different perspectives; Edward Blum in chapter 10 and Debo Adegbile in chapter 11 .
It is customary to dedicate a book to a specific individual, usually a family member, a mentor, or another author. But we want to dedicate this book to the icon of all free peoples, the voter. May we continue to work for the perfect vehicle that expresses their political preferences.
D. C. M .
Salt Lake City
The Most Fundamental Right
PART ONE
The Political and Legal Context of the Voting Rights Act
ONE
Meaningful Votes
DANIEL MCCOOL
A BRIEF HISTORY
The debate over minority voting rights began in earnest the night of April 11, 1865. General Robert E. Lee had surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia two days earlier, and the end of the Civil War was in sight. Washington, D. C., was in a state of exultation, and a boisterous crowd of citizens gathered below a window of the White House, demanding that the president say a few words. Lincoln came to the window and, reading by candlelight, explained his vision for a postwar nation. Among his ideas was a proposal to give some blacks, especially those who had fought in the war, the right to vote. Among the listeners in the crowd was John Wilkes Booth. He muttered to his friend, That means nigger citizenship. That s the last speech he ll ever make. 1
In the aftermath of the Civil War and Lincoln s assassination, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution were adopted. The Fifteenth Amendment, which became part of the Constitution in 1870, reads, The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. The debate over the Fifteenth Amendment was contentious; southern states argued that it interfered with states rights. But after the amendment was adopted, the New York Times editorialized that the amendment would put an end to further agitation of the subject. 2
The Times was wrong; bills to give teeth to the Fifteenth Amendment were introduced repeatedly in the U.S. Congress in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The most innovative bill, the Federal Elections bill of 1891, failed to become law due to opposition from southern Democrats. At that point, the Congress gave up on passing a meaningful voting rights bill. 3 It was not until 1965, one hundred years and three months after Lincoln s window speech, that Congress passed the Voting Rights Act ( VRA ). The Congress was responding to President Johnson s demand that in the wake of Bloody Sunday at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, Congress pass the goddamnest toughest voting bill possible. 4 The act was passed with broad bipartisan support, but there was stiff opposition from southerners who claimed the act was a yoke of shame, very unjust, and an extreme measure. 5
Thus began the long odyssey of the Voting Rights Act, amended and renewed four times, most recently in 2006, making it what one congressman called arguably the most carefully reviewed civil rights measure in our Nation s history. 6 The adoption and the extensions of the VRA have always passed with support from both parties, in spite of opposition, and all the extensions were signed into law by Republican presidents.
Although there is currently a lively debate, featured in this book, over the merits of the current law, nearly everyone describes the original VRA in superlatives:
Many characterize the Voting Rights Act as the most important and effective civil rights legislation Congress ever adopted. 7
The VRA is the crowning achievement of social justice and equality for all Americans. 8
The Act is rightly lauded as the crown jewel of our civil rights laws. 9
The Voting Rights Act can be characterized accurately as one of the most successful pieces of civil rights legislation