40th Anniversary of Voting Rights Act of 1965 Highlights Gains & Gaps

Media 08.5,05

Washington, DC – Tomorrow, August 6th, marks the 40th anniversary of the historic passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), which outlawed racial discrimination in voting. Hailed by many as the nation’s most effective civil rights law, key provisions of the VRA will expire in 2007 if they are not renewed.

“As we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and its success, we also acknowledge that full equality of political opportunity is still just an ideal for many of our citizens,” said Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) and counselor to LCCR’s public education arm, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF). “All we need do is look at the elections of 2000 and 2004 to see that VRA violations remain a persistent and ugly feature of our political landscape.”

The VRA put an end to discriminatory literacy tests, poll taxes and other purposefully prejudiced methods of preventing minority voters from having their voices heard on Election Day. It established the right to translated election materials in minority communities across the country. It banned discriminatory election systems and made it possible for minority voters to elect candidates of their choice for the first time since reconstruction.

While the VRA banned the most egregious and overt forms of voter discrimination – like poll taxes and literacy tests – minority voters still suffer from other appalling forms of discrimination. In just the last two years, the VRA has been used to combat discrimination across the country. Here are a few examples:


  • Ville Platte (Louisiana) city officials tried to reduce the number of election districts where African Americans could elect candidates of their choice. The racially motivated redistricting plan was found to have violated Section 5 of the VRA.


  • Bexar County Texas officials sought to silence Latino voters by failing to place polling places near Latino communities during a special election where a Constitutional amendment was on the ballot. Using the VRA’s special provisions, voting rights advocates were able to obtain expedited relief from the local district court, which prevented the Latino voters from being silenced in the election.


  • Harris County Texas County election officials failed to provide bilingual voting materials to Vietnamese voters , who made up a large share of voters in Harris County. The Department of Justice forced Harris County officials to comply with provisions of the VRA that require bilingual election materials and a Vietnamese candidate later won a legislative seat there.


  • A federal court found that the state of South Dakota was in violation of the VRA by discriminating against Native American voters. The court found that South Dakota had packed Native Americans into a single district thereby stifling their ability to elect representatives of their choice to the state legislature.

    Recently, LCCREF teamed with coalition partners to launch a campaign about the need to reauthorize and strengthen key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) that expire in 2007. These provisions include: Section 5, which requires jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to obtain Justice Department approval before implementing changes to voting practices and procedures; Sections 6-9, which authorize the government to send federal election observers to areas where there is evidence of voter intimidation; and Section 203, which makes sure local governments provide translated voting materials and assistance to voters in communities where it is needed.

    More information on the campaign is available at www.RenewTheVRA.org. The website provides background on the history of the VRA, an interactive map of states affected by reauthorization, and state-by-state personal accounts that illustrate the continuing importance of the VRA.

    “The VRA protects the voice and vote of millions of American citizens,” said Henderson. “If we as a country are truly committed to equal opportunity, we will not only reauthorize the VRA but we will strengthen it. Protecting every American’s right to vote is the surest way guarantee continued progress in our democracy.”