Page 5 - Voting Discrimination News Today

Possibilities. but civil rights lawyers in the south are few in numbers and we need the justice department in the first instance to try to police agencies. one of the people on this show just said that the south was perhaps not the only place where theres voting discrimination. and thats true. but the reality is, the south is still very, very different than other parts of the country. just one statistic to prove the point. in the last election, 40% of white voters in the country opted for an afr...

With the supreme courts decision today. for nearly 50 years the voting rights act enact and repeatedly renewed by wide bipartisan committees in congress. today it upsets decades of well established practices that help make sure voting is fair especially in places where voting discrimination has been prevalent. he says as a nation weve made a great deal of progress toward guaranteeing every american a right to vote but as the supreme court recognizes, voting discrimination still exists. while tod...

There were many difficulties within congress. president reagan signed the reauthorization of the voting rights act. president bush signed the reauthorization of the voting rights act. this has always been a bipartisan piece of legislation and the reason it is, because it is embodies what we all aspire to in this country. it is a recognition of our highest democratic principles, the idea of equality, the idea of inclusion, the idea of ensuring that we dont make the victims of voting discriminatio...

No, im serious. so in 2006, it was reauthorized by unanimous support of the united states senate, and near unanimous of the united states house of representatives. this report is based on a recognition that voting is a fundamental right. it is the foundation of our democracy. the voting rights act has been a critical and effective means to guarantee that core right. as the supreme court acknowledged, we made progress as a nation the supreme court also recognized voting discrimination still exist...

Most republicans would rather raise the money thats spent on selma that we are not yet at a to his last, which isnt rocket science. defense. in terms of the issue of point where the most vital part of the voting rights act, its just common sense. flexibility, perhaps the section 5, is no longer from td ameritrade. presidents top economic adviser put it best. he said its like being told you necessary. congressman john lewis says have to cut off three fingers. areas covered by the act it doesnt ma...

Race discrimination which it thought was prevalent in certain jurisdictions. so to that extent as the intervenor said, yes, it was intended to protect those who had been discriminated against. if i might say, i think that -- >> do you think that racial discrimination in voting has ended? that there is none anywhere? >> i think the world is not perfect. >> julie, was she speaking to him or was she speaking to justice scalia? what was going on? where was she looking when she said that? >> i think ...

The litigants. >> using him as a means -- >> as sort of a prop in a sense, not a nice word, but just as an opportunity to have a conversation so they can talk to each other about whats really going on. but i do think i want to say whats really going on here are two things. one is there is a case to be made there is continuing voting discrimination in states all over the south and other parts of the country thats race-based that section 5 prevents, and the question is whose job is it to determine...

Thought was prelent in certain jurisdictions. so to that extent as the intervenor said, yes, it was intended to protect those who had been discriminated against. if i might say, i think that -- >> do you think that racial discrimination in voting has ended? that there is none anywhere? >> i think the world is not perfect. >> julie, was she speaking to him or was she speaking to justice scalia? what was going on? where was she looking when she said that? >> i think often the justices and in this ...

About the continued pervasive racial discrimination thats going on in the covered jurisdictions about the flexibility of the coverage formula and the mechanism for deciding whos covered. and about how there are ways to address voting discrimination outside of the covered jurisdictions. i think the -- >> lets keep this simple. youre a lawyer. youre lawyering me here. >> im sorry. >> the bottom line is if youre black out there and you want to vote and you live in pennsylvania and theyve been screw...

Jurisdictions, those 16 areas are still responsible for, get this, john, 80% of the lawsuits which prove voting discrimination. hes absolutely right. >> right. and so shelby county wonders why the justice department wouldnt exactly take their just trust us explanation for what they were trying to do. when the court hears arguments on wednesday, well get a clearer idea of where the court might be going. but i have to tell you, its going to take some amazing constitutional cha-cha for them to get ...