The Voting Rights Act Marks Its 60th Anniversary as Its Core Provisions Are Being Eroded
UNITED STATES, AUG 6 – The Voting Rights Act increased Black voter registration from 31% to 73% in the South, but recent court rulings and state laws have weakened protections, activists warn.
- In response to the violent suppression of voters in Selma, Alabama, the Voting Rights Act was enacted into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965.
- The Act aimed to eliminate discriminatory practices like literacy tests and poll taxes that had disenfranchised Black voters in the South.
- Despite the Act's success in increasing Black voter registration and representation, such as more than quadrupling elected Black officials by 1980, modern challenges have emerged.
- The 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder removed federal preclearance, prompting laws restricting voting access, with the Justice Department opposing efforts to reinstate oversight.
- Sixty years later, activists warn the Voting Rights Act remains under threat and call for renewed civic engagement and federal protections to safeguard voting rights.
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Op-Ed: 2 Photos, 1 Promise—60 Years After The Voting Rights Act
Source: Washington Bureau / Getty Imagine the scene, it’s Friday, Aug. 6, 1965. President Lyndon B. Johnson is seated at a small writing desk set in the center of the President’s Room near the Senate Chambers surrounded by serious looking men in dark suits including Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Speaker John McCormack (D-MA), Sen. Jacob Javits (R-NY), Sen. Mike Mansfield (D-MT) and Rep. Emanuel Celler (D-NY). He’s signing the Voting Rights Act…
The morning read for Thursday, August 7
Each weekday, we select a short list of news articles and commentary related to the Supreme Court. Here’s the Thursday morning read: Paul Ryan: Supreme Court likely to restrict Trump’s emergency tariff authority (Tobias Burns, The Hill) Protections of the Voting Rights Act are under threat as the law marks its 60th anniversary (Gary Fields and Jack Dura, AP News) “Virtually All of Us Are Committed” to SCOTUS’s Ethics Code, Justice Sotomayor Tel…
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