The Voting Rights Act Of 1965 - 1549 Words

The United States is a country anchored on the principle of inclusivity and mutual respect. The country has a dark past characterized with instances of racial profiling and discrimination which culminated into civil unrests realized in the mid-20th century. Moving forward, the country adopted strategic frameworks that were to guide towards a new era devoid of discrimination. The aspect of political participation was one fundamental instrument that was subsequently integrated into the American social dynamics. The enactment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 sought to empower the minority groups to participate in the electoral processes, and to eliminate the barriers that existed in the political landscape. Some of the achievements of the act†¦show more content†¦Section 5 highlights that any changes in the state electoral laws, which are deemed to have the potential to disenfranchise the minority groups must first be approved by the federal agencies including the US attorney g eneral and the US District Court for D.C. In addition, the section defines the need for the states with a significant population of minority groups to develop bilingual ballot papers to ensure that the voters make informed decisions when taking part in the electoral process. On the other hand, section 4 of the act highlights the need to adopt special coverage formulas to integrate the minority groups in the entire electoral process. In many instances, the act requires that such special coverage formulas to be cleared by the federal agencies before they can be applied. The fundamental goal of the preclearance provision is to prevent discrimination against certain groups of voters who may be deemed to antagonize the general position of their local political trends. However, this provision has since been deemed unconstitutional in the Shelby County v. Holder Case of 2013 (Fuller, 2014). Despite the perceived unconstitutionality of the two sections of the act, and the attempts to review the act to eliminate the clauses, analyses of the political dynamics indicate that the two sections are still relevant in American politics. Justifications for the Need for Sections 4 and 5 The first factor which makes the sections necessary is that theyShow MoreRelatedThe Voting Rights Act Of 19651575 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Voting Rights Act initially enacted in 1965. There are two sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that are of particular concern in most cases, sections 4 and 5. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires certain states, districts, and localities to obtain federal preclearance before making any changes or alterations to their election laws or practices (Overby). Section 4 specifies a formula for determining whether a geographical area is subject to section 5 (Overby). When the Voting RightsRead MoreVoting Rights Act of 1965766 Words   |  4 Pagesresearch topic is the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and I chose this topic because I always found it amusing that it took so long for African Americans to legally be allowed to vote. I also thought this topic was appropriate since we now have an African American president, and the African Americans ci tizens need to know that voting I important because we didn’t always have that right. II. Statement of research question, hypothesis Topic: Voting Rights Act of 1965 Issue: ImportanceRead MoreThe Voting Rights Act Of 19652148 Words   |  9 PagesVoting has been a fundamental right, and has changed over the past one hundred years to allow not only women but minorities to vote. However, in Texas there have been arguments about the revision of Section five of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Not only has Texas politicians accepted the new Voting Rights act, but the legislation itself has also been accused of redistricting parts of the state to aid voter turn out to the party in power. With the ever growing minority population, legislative actionRead MoreThe Voting Rights Act Of 19652010 Words   |  9 PagesThe Constitution gave each state the right to determine its own voting laws (May 50). This privilege has been amended to ensure that minorities, and other groups who would be otherwise left out of the voting process, are not prevented from voting in federal and state elections. The most prominent piece of legislation ensuring equal tr eatment of all citizens at the voting booth is the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Amended many times since its initial adoption, the Act is generally considered the most successfulRead MoreThe Voting Rights Act Of 19651288 Words   |  6 Pagesoccurred during the year 1965; these changes positively impacted the minority community. During this year, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 helped enforce the 15th Amendment and prohibited racial discrimination in voting. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished quotas based on nationality and allowed Americans to sponsor relatives from their countries of origin. The Voting Rights Act and the ImmigrationRead MoreThe Voting Rights Act Of 1965947 Words   |  4 PagesThe Supreme Court rulings led to a number of acts which helped the civil rights movement attain its goals. The first example is the Voting Rights Act of 1965. On January 23rd, 1964, th e 24th amendment stopped the poll tax, which initially had been introduced in eleven southern states after reconstruction to make it difficult for poor blacks to vote. On August 10th, 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, making it easier for Southern blacks to register to vote. Anything that could limit theRead MoreThe Voting Rights Act Of 1965925 Words   |  4 Pagesdisenfranchisement. As it stands right now most states have restrictions on felons and voting. Florida, for example, requires you to wait 5 years before a convicted felon can apply for clemency to vote (ProCon.org). Out of all the states, there are only 2 states that have no restrictions, and allow convicted felons to vote absentee ballots from within prison (ProCon.org). Compared to other modern societies, the United States â€Å"features the harshest restrictions on offender voting rights† (Sigler). ConvictedRead MoreThe Voting Rights Act Of 1965862 Words   |  4 Pagesdecided to gut the Voting Rig hts Act of 1965 in Shelby County v. Holder by deciding Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional. The Voting Rights Act was meant to prevent historically discriminatory states from passing discriminatory voting laws. The purpose was to end racial discrimination in voting. Section 4(b) lays out the formula for which these states are selected. Basically, if the state had a history of restricting votes through tests or other means, their voting laws would be subjectRead MoreThe Voting Rights Act Of 19651456 Words   |  6 Pagesdiscriminated against their voting rights. They have not only been unrepresented in the number of candidates running for positions but also the number of voters who are registered and participate in elections. After the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it was prohibited for voters to be racially discriminated against. But since then, many revisions have been added, tightening the rules for registering and participating in voting. Many of these rules p revent minorities from voting but aren’t considered raciallyRead MoreThe Voting Rights Act of 1965 Essays1217 Words   |  5 Pagesbe caused by pieces of paper. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a law passed that primarily gave African Americans the right to vote without having to take any sort of literacy tests. African Americans were widely ignored in voting rights because they were forced to take literacy tests to be eligible to vote. Having this event in our nation’s civil rights movement was a landmark that allowed the other half of our nation’s voice to be heard. â€Å"The Voting Rights Act itself has been called the single