Voting Rights Act

Washington DC -- June 22, 2009 -- The NAACP issued the following statement today in response to the United State Supreme Court Ruling in the Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Eric Holder, a case challenging Section Five of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“The NAACP commends the Supreme Court Justices today for upholding one of the most crucial enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act,” said Benjamin T. Jealous, President and CEO of the NAACP. “As Chief Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion, ‘[t]he historic accomplishments of the Voting Rights Act are undeniable.’ In 2006 Congress voted to reauthorize Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and now in 2009 the Supreme Court has upheld Section 5, “President and CEO Jealous continued.    » read more »

May 18, 2009 -- On May 19, 2009, the Justice Department will monitor the election in the city of Philadelphia to ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws.

Justice Department staff members will monitor polling place activities in Philadelphia. A Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials. In April 2007, the Justice Department reached a settlement agreement with Philadelphia related to allegations that the city had violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act.    » read more »

May 8, 2009 -- On May 9, 2009, the Department of Justice will monitor municipal elections in the cities of Farmers Branch and Hondo, Texas, to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.    » read more »

United States Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

January 30, 2008 -- "Attorney General Mukasey, thank you for appearing today. I want to raise two subjects, waterboarding and voting rights.    » read more »

October 30, 2007 -- (Washington, DC) - Today, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties heard testimony from Justice Department Civil Rights Voting Section Chief John Tanner and voting and civil rights experts about the Voting Section's civil rights enforcement record as well as the impact of voter ID laws on minority voting. Members took particular issue with Tanner's recent statement: "...our society is such that minorities don't become elderly the way that white people do.    » read more »

Comments about minority voters offensive, dangerous

October 19, 2007 -- WASHINGTON , D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today sent the following letter to Acting Attorney General Peter D. Keisler calling on him to immediately replace John Tanner, the chief of the voting rights section of the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, for offensive and erroneous comments he made about minorities.    » read more »

August 8, 2007 -- On the 42nd anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act, Democrats reaffirm our commitment as a Party that ensures that all eligible Americans are able to vote and have their vote counted without fear of intimidation or harassment.    » read more »

April 23, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - The Justice Department today announced that on April 24, 2007, it will monitor the special election in Osceola County, Fla., to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act.

Justice Department personnel will monitor polling place activities in Osceola County, and a Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.    » read more »

"(The Voting Rights Act) was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting." - ourdocuments.gov

Transcript of Voting Rights Act (1965)

AN ACT To enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes.    » read more »