f breaking up state hold on elections that kept certain parts of the citizenship population, in the case the African American portion, from voting. Before this Bill was enacted, discriminatory practices during elections had been challenged on a case-by-case basis. The purpose of the VRA was to enforce the 15th Amendment right to vote once and for all ("The Voting Rights Acts of 1965," 2005).
There are several provisions in the VRA that are especially significant for African Americans. The first is the Section 2, which bans racial discrimination during elections nationwide. The next is Section 4 and 201, which ban literacy tests nationwide. The last is Section 5, which requires certain states in the Union to "pre-clear" any changes in voting or election procedures through the Department of Justice or District Court before the changes take place. This is to prevent those areas of the country from replacing the discriminatory literacy tests with other practices which may bar certain parts of the population from voting ("Protect Voting Rights," 2005). Renewal of Section 5, coming up in August 2007, is especially significant because it is through the renewal process that the courts are able to determine if there are other portions of the population, or other areas of the country, where discrimination takes place during the elections. The renewal process allows them to review this. Many public officials continue to attempt to adopt dlection law changes that keep minorities from having equal access at the election polls. In addition, the renewal process keeps this section from being vulnerable to a constitutional challenge the way a permanent provision would be ("Protect Voting Rights," 2005).
"Protect Voting Rights: Renew the VRA." (2005). CivilRights.Org Network. Accessed online at: http://www.civilrights.org/campaigns/vra/learn_more/faq.html
"The Voting Rights Act of 1965." (2005). Introduction To Federal Voting Ri...