Significance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
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Significance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
INTRODUCTION
The voting rights of 1965 were brought into motion in the 165 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to overcome the constant barrier of African Americans not participating in their democratic rights both at state and local levels. As the15th Amendment of the U.S constitution, voting rights has played a significant role as one of the centrepieces of civil rights legislation in the country’s history (Acharya, Blackwell, & Sen, 2016). After the 15th Amendment that approved the right to vote for all male citizens regardless of race, colour, or previous conditions and servitude, President Lyndon used his mandate as head of the office to push for civil legislation and advocate for equal voting rights for all races.
After the death of John F. Kennedy in 1963 November, President Lyndon won by an overwhelming landslide, prioritizing the right to vote as one of his first orders of business. Before the issuing of voting rights, some laws existed preventing the African Americans, especially the ones from the south from the right to vote. With the various forms of mistreatment subjected to voting rights activists between 1950s and early 1960s, Johnson called for a comprehensive voting rights legislation which highlighted the crude nature of election officials denying African Americans to exercise their liberal rights.
The systematic inequality of African Americans in a democracy is still exhibited in modern time with black people still experiencing exclusion in the democratic process even after 150 years of the abolition of slavery (Murdock, 2019). Through the protection of discriminatory policies such as preventing ex felonies from exercising voting rights and induction of new discrimination policies against people of colour, the country is moving steps back in terms of ensuring equality and justice for all, especially in voting rights spectrum. This paper will discuss the importance of advocating for voting rights along with looking at flawed barriers preventing black voters from participating in democratic rights. Moreover, the paper will discuss the longstanding efforts for some policymakers to protect the right of voting for all Americans.
HISTORY OF VOTING RIGHTS FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR
Contrary to the belief, few black men were allowed to vote in between 1790 and 1870 depending on their freedom status. However, the number of enslaved black people who were not allowed to vote anywhere constituted 85% of the total population of African Americans (Payne, Vuletich, & Brown-Iannuzzi, 2019). In states that Quakers preached racial tolerance and equality of African Americans (inclusive of voting rights) such as Pennsylvania, black voters shunned from exercising their rights for fear of reprisal from the white community. Consequently, the right to vote by Black people was stripped of voting rights entirely in 1857’s Supreme Court verdict on Dred Scott v. Sandford case. The court ruled that Black people were not allowed to vote on the grounds of no Africans would ever become citizens of the United States. Later in 1865, black people were accorded the right to vote in only six states while white people who vote from any form of their choice.
In the wake of 1865 American civil war, United States formally signed in the 14th and 15th Amendment which constituted of granting citizenship to all people born and bred in the country. Moreover, the amendments prohibited deprivation of privileges of people based on previous enslavement, race or colour. Within 1870-1871, the government introduced three Enforcement Acts that were against voter suppression and provided federal security to the minorities during the election process. The laws were significant as they brought to justice to famous white supremacists hate groups such as the Ku Klax Clan which focused, particularly from the southern part of the United States, on persecuting African American voters from exercising their democratic rights (Murdock, 2019). Members of the group were arrested and convicted as a result of undermining black voters in the electoral process.
RECONSTRUCTION ERA
The famous reconstruction period that happened for 12 years brought some sense of relief for the African Americans in terms of racial injustice in the electoral process. Approximately 1510 Black Americans were privileged to hold elected offices in every level of the government level such as clerks, congressional representatives and school superintendents. However, the gains of the reconstruction process did not last for the African Americans as the election of President Rutherford uninitiated the end of the era. Unlike the reconstruction age that facilitated the equal distribution of resources such as education, security and economy, the aftermath was characterized by white supremacists violence, racial discrimination and occupational segregation of people with color. Consequently, the motive of these actions was to suppress Black Americans to second-class citizenship eventually diminishing their voting rights.
Reconstruction period had brought about hope to African Americans on how democracy works, but the aftermath subjected them to disenfranchisement and brutal suppression for almost a century. As the country became more diverse, people began identifying voting rights for African Americans as a constitutional mandate. However, the expansion of voting rights was limited to the people of colour who were excluded from electoral participation, and democratic institutions remained racially homogenous. Over subsequent decades, states from the southern part of the country adopted policies that would limit the involvement of African Americans in the electoral process with some going to the point of claiming homelessness of African Americans as illegal and prohibitive of voting with other convictions.
DEPRIVATION OF VOTING RIGHTS
Even though the 13th Amendment prohibited slavery, it provided the exception of crime in which facilitated convict leasing in southern states for free labour. The Southern states passed laws known as black codes which only applied to black people (Schuit, Sophie, and Jon C. Rogowski, 2017). Consequentially, states also adopted poll taxes and English literacy tests which were meant to exclude black voters from the electoral process. Illiterate White people with low paying jobs were exempted from the process conveniently due to “grandfather clauses” which allowed them to vote as descendants of old voters on the election. Such laws technically limited the ability of Black people in exercising their voting rights.
In the Western States, significant measures were taken to undermine Black voters from participating in their democratic rights. For instance, Oregon institutionalized a union before the Civil War disenfranchising both Black and Chinese people (Schuit, Sophie, and Jon C. Rogowski, 2017). In the aftermath of the war, the state rejected the 15th Amendment, consequently denying people of colour voting. Moreover, progress made during the reconstruction period was followed with close to 90 years of induction of policies that limited the vote of people of color. For example, Chinese Exclusion Act prevented the Chinese immigrants from becoming American citizens. Even when the country gained territorial control over Puerto Rico and Guam that were predominantly preoccupied with non-white residents, they limited suffrage law was still applied to the non-white residents and still exists in the modern-day.
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND VRA
The civil rights movement that was launched by black activists in 1954 fostered equal exercise of rights and protection as instructed by the constitution for all Americans regardless of colour, race. Participants of the civil rights movement risked their lives by succumbing to injuries and arrests in the process of fighting for freedom against oppression segregation and voter suppression (Garrow, 1978). Eventually, after years on non-violent protests, determination through constant litigation and continued education, the civil movement succeeded its motive of dismantling the institutions that focused on suppression of democratic rights against people of colour. Consequently, the civil action played a significant part in the Voting Rights Act of 1965(VRA), which outlined positive prospects in voting rights for people of colour.
VRA narrowed powers to the federal government and right civil leaders to create policies that would favour all Americans (inclusive of the minorities) exercise fundamental rights to vote. Additionally, VRA prohibited practices and procedures from the white communities that limited the ability of the minority groups to exercise their freedom (Bloom, 2019). Section 5 of the Act indicated prevention of jurisdictions with an established history of undermining minority electoral participation. According to section 5, the existing jurisdictions would seek permission from the United States Department of Justice before making changes in the election process or voting procedures.
Increase in the number of Black Voters between 1965 to 1988 dramatically increased in places such as Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana (Bloom, 2019). The increase in the number of black registered voters initiated the rise of African American legislators in different levels of the government. Within the decade of 1970 to 1980, the number of Black officials in the government had tripled from 1469 to 4612. As a result, VRA made significant steps in uprooting structural racism in the society as the expansion of voting rights were widely bolstered in subsequent amendments of the Act.
Amendments such as protecting minorities and acquisition of jurisdiction to translate voting materials in a bid to prevent minorities from language discrimination aided the equality equation of the country. Currently, jurisdiction covers the limited with English proficiency population who constitute more than 10,000 citizens comprising of 5% of the ones eligible to vote. This Amendment has helped most of the Native, Asian Americans and Latinx with limited English proficiency to participate in the voting exercise, thus drawing the country a step forward towards democracy.
As much as VRA as drawn the country to a step closer to democracy, it still has its limitations. Several state and federal lawmakers attempt to curtail voting rights to the minority communities of the country (Solomon, Maxwell, & Castro, 2019). Moreover, policymakers from different states have improvised new strategies that suppress voters with colour, For example, in 2011 and 2012, regions such as California, Mississippi and North Carolina inducted bills that would limit voting registration by curbing registration drives. Americans with prior felony convictions and living in Washington, D.C, were denied democratic rights to vote despite the passage of VRA.
RESURGENCE OF VOTER SUPPRESSION
The resurgence of voter suppression has been characterized by the recent adjustments and innovation of policymakers. U.S Supreme Court rulings aided in the elimination of core voting rights after the number of Black voters exceeded the White voters for the first time in the country’s history. Consequently, the Supreme Court rulings gave the green light to suppression of coloured voters which has since brought back old decades of disenfranchised policies that foster discrimination of the minority groups. Some of the Supreme Court rulings include the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder with the court deciding the formula used in Section 5 as unconstitutional (Mack et al. 2016). This facilitated voter suppression and manipulation of voting policies which favours the white supremacists to discriminate people of colour without receiving any consequence by the federal officials.
States such as North Carolina were quick to act in response to Shelby by requesting identification cards during the voting process. The law threatened to suppress many Black voters, and it only took the court to revert the position as they ruled on North Carolina targeting Black Voters in the most surgical precision (Mack et al. 2016). Additionally, lawmakers in North Dakota adjusted laws of strict voter ID, which were meant to limit Native Americans from participating in the voting exercise. The law instituted in 2018 midterm elections contained a clause which required mandatory presentation of ID containing valid residence and location to vote. Many Native Americans living in remote areas had not recognizable residence street address which made it impossible for them to vote. Almost 1 out of 5 Native Americans eligible to vote was denied the freedom to participate in the democratic right.
PREVAILING AND EMERGING THREATS OF VOTING RIGHTS
Felony disenfranchisement happens to be the most potent tool that limits African Americans from voting. Notably, people of colour constitute a significant population of people in correctional facilities (Solomon, Maxwell, & Castro, 2019). The war on drugs and incarceration is mostly experienced with people of colour who magnify the felony disenfranchisement countrywide. In 2016, more than 6.1 million voters (most from the black community) were deprived of voting due to their criminal backgrounds. Enforcing democracy in the country constitutes of letting off the leash ex-convicts who have served time and paid their debts to the society, and letting them be productive members of the company. As such, ex felonies should be accorded the right to vote as they are part of the community outside. This restriction from VRA limits a significant population from people of colour from participating in the voting process.
With over 150 years of the fight of equal voting rights for all citizens, policymakers are still looking for ways to undermine the voting ability of people with a colour which goes against humanity and the strive for equality (Murillo, 2017). Just recently, President Trump announced his intentions of revoking the citizenship of Americans whose parents are not documented in a bid to prevent the entry of Muslims to the country. Moreover, the increase of people of colour in correctional facilities limits their ability to participate in the voting process. Even though such cases define racial injustice and discrimination of minority groups, several Americans of colour fear practising democratic rights such as voting which are instrumental in the foundation of the country’s leaders.
CONCLUSION
The democracy of the country is dependent on the participation of everyone in civil duties. Despite actions taken by the civil rights movement to institute voting rights all people regardless of colour, race or background, several lawmakers look for ways to conjure the ugly past of racial discrimination. Suppression tactics against people of colour have advanced over recent times with many states resulting in structural racism as an option of undermining American coloured voters. To curb such unlawful trends, the government should fully restore VRA section 5, which will aid in preventing discrimination of the minority groups, particularly in the voting process. Moreover, the felony disenfranchisement, strict ID requirement and modern-day poll tax should be revoked by lawmakers because of their discriminatory policies. Passing new laws that will ensure full participation of every citizen in the voting process is fundamental in building a democratic country.
References
Acharya, A., Blackwell, M., & Sen, M. (2016). The political legacy of American slavery. The Journal of Politics, 78(3), 621-641.
Andrews, K. T. (2018). Freedom is a constant struggle: The Mississippi civil rights movement and its legacy. University of Chicago Press.
Bloom, J. M. (2019). Class, race, and the civil rights movement. Indiana University Press.
Garrow, D. J. (1978). Protest at Selma: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Yale University Press.
Mack, L. R., Perry-Mitchell, T., Thompson-Rogers, K., & Foster-Pierre, D. (2016). ‘Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired’: Challenges to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 & Why We Must Continue to March. Making Connections: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Cultural Diversity, 16(2), 18-32.
Murdock, D. (2019). Slavery in America. Network Journal, 26(1), 42-42.
Murillo, M. (2017). Did Voter Suppression Win President Trump the Election: The Decimation of the Voting Rights Act and the Importance of Section 5. USFL, Rev., 51, 591.
Payne, B. K., Vuletich, H. A., & Brown-Iannuzzi, J. L. (2019). Historical roots of implicit bias in slavery. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(24), 11693-11698.
Schuit, Sophie, and Jon C. Rogowski. “Race, representation, and the voting rights act.” American Journal of Political Science 61, no. 3 (2017): 513-526.
Solomon, D., Maxwell, C., & Castro, A. (2019). Systematic Inequality and American Democracy. Center for American Progress. https://www. American progress. org/issues/race/reports/2019/08/07/473003/systematicinequality-American-democracy.