Civil Rights Coalition Applauds Senate for Recognizing Need to Develop a Strong Record in Support of Voting Rights Act Reauthorization

WASHINGTON – Today, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation’s oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition, applauded the Senate for recognizing the need to develop a strong record in support of reauthorization of the preclearance and minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. LCCR believes that reauthorization should not be done as an amendment to any bill.

“We thank Senator Frist for his support of the Voting Rights Act’s temporary provisions, and are pleased that he decided to withdraw his amendment to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (S.1805) to make the preclearance and minority language provisions permanent,” said Wade Henderson, LCCR executive director.

“Critical analysis of issues surrounding the preclearance and minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act have not yet been fully examined and analyzed carefully to reflect the current status of our laws, court decisions, enforcement actions, and society,” continued Henderson. “The Supreme Court has made clear in recent years that it will require Congress to establish a detailed record, through hearings and legislative findings, in order to ensure that provisions such as these survive constitutional scrutiny. Therefore, while we plan to support reauthorization of the VRA provisions at issue, the Frist amendment was premature.”

“We look forward to the opportunity to work with Senator Frist and other members of the Senate over the next few years to establish a strong legislative record in support of reauthorization of the temporary provisions of the Voting Rights Act,” concluded Henderson.