The Vra '65: Constitutional Foundation

The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 was enacted to enforce the fifteenth amendment to the US Constitution. The VRA aimed to address the political hold of Jim Crow policies in the South and related discriminatory structures nationwide. The act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965, 95 years after the 15th Amendment was ratified. The 15th Amendment, passed in 1870, made it unconstitutional to deny the right to vote based on race, colour, or previous servitude. However, people of colour continued to face disenfranchisement for nearly a century through Jim Crow segregation and discriminatory practices such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation. The VRA's constitutional basis stems from its role in upholding the 15th Amendment's guarantee that the right to vote cannot be denied because of race or colour. The act also aligns with other voting-related amendments, such as the 19th and 26th Amendments, which prevent discrimination in voting rights based on status such as race, ethnicity, sex, and age.

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The 15th Amendment

The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 was enacted as a comprehensive tool to undo the political hold of Jim Crow policies in the South and related discriminatory structures nationwide. The VRA is rooted in the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution, passed in 1870, which made it unconstitutional to deny the right to vote based on race, colour, or previous servitude. Despite the passage of the 15th Amendment, people of colour continued to face disenfranchisement for nearly 100 years through Jim Crow segregation and discriminatory practices such as poll taxes, literacy tests, intimidation, and violence.

The VRA established proactive protections for the right to vote, aiming to uphold the 15th Amendment's guarantee that the right to vote cannot be denied because of race. Section 2 of the VRA prohibits voting practices and procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, colour, or membership in a language minority group. It outlaws intentional discrimination and election practices that result in the denial or abridgment of the right to vote based on race or colour. Section 2 closely follows the language of the 15th Amendment.

The VRA underwent critical modifications during Senate deliberations, including the "Dirksen-Mansfield-Katzenbach compromise," which replaced blanket federal oversight with a targeted coverage formula to address constitutional concerns. The final version passed with bipartisan support, emphasising states' rights safeguards. The VRA's preclearance requirement, Section 5, was strengthened to address voter suppression tactics in states like Mississippi.

The constitutionality of the VRA and its provisions has been challenged in court cases such as South Carolina v. Katzenbach (1966), which upheld the VRA's constitutionality, and Shelby County v. Holder (2013), which struck down the coverage formula in Section 4(b) as outdated but did not rule on the constitutionality of Section 5 itself. The VRA has been a target of conservatives on the Supreme Court, and their decisions have limited its application over time.

In summary, the VRA of 1965 was enacted to enforce the 15th Amendment's guarantee against racial discrimination in voting. It established concrete protections against discriminatory voting practices and has been reauthorised multiple times to address ongoing discrimination. While facing legal challenges, the VRA remains a crucial tool in ensuring equal voting rights for racial and language minorities in the United States.

Supreme Court rulings

The constitutional basis of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States, is rooted in several amendments to the US Constitution, including the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, which guarantee equal protection under the law

Federal oversight

The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 was enacted to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which states that the right to vote cannot be denied based on race. The VRA aimed to address the ongoing disenfranchisement of people of colour, specifically Black Americans, who continued to face barriers to voting even after the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870.

The VRA introduced critical protections against voter discrimination on the basis of race, colour, or membership in a language minority group. Notably, it outlawed discriminatory practices such as literacy tests and poll taxes, which had been used to prevent Black Americans from voting. The act also provided for the appointment of federal examiners to register qualified citizens to vote in certain jurisdictions.

However, the original VRA included a provision for blanket federal oversight, which was replaced during Senate deliberations with a more targeted approach. This compromise, known as the "Dirksen-Mansfield-Katzenbach compromise," implemented a coverage formula (Section 4(b)) that focused on jurisdictions with low voter registration and literacy tests, initially covering six Southern states. This change addressed constitutional concerns while allowing for more efficient allocation of resources by the Justice Department.

In 2013, the Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder significantly impacted federal oversight under the VRA. The Court ruled that while preclearance was constitutional, the coverage formula in Section 4(b) used to determine which states required preclearance was outdated and therefore unconstitutional. As a result, the preclearance requirement in Section 5 became unenforceable, and places with a history of discrimination were no longer subject to federal oversight before changing their voting processes.

The loss of federal oversight following the Shelby County decision led to an increase in voter registration purges and a wave of policies that made voting more difficult. Studies have shown that VRA coverage was effective in reducing the incidence of political violence and increasing minority voter turnout. The ongoing challenges to voting rights highlight the importance of federal oversight in protecting the constitutional right to vote for all citizens.

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Voting qualifications

The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 was enacted to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees that the right to vote cannot be denied based on race. The VRA aimed to address the discriminatory voting practices that prevented Black Americans from voting in southern states, such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bureaucratic restrictions.

Section 2 of the VRA prohibits any jurisdiction from implementing voting qualifications or prerequisites that result in the denial or abridgement of the right to vote based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group. This section contains two separate protections against voter discrimination. Firstly, it prohibits intentional discrimination based on race or colour in voting. Secondly, it prohibits election practices that result in the denial or abridgment of the right to vote based on race or colour. This means that plaintiffs can demonstrate a violation of Section 2 by showing that a challenged election practice has resulted in discrimination based on race, colour, or language minority status, without needing to prove intent.

The VRA also addressed the issue of poll taxes, which were found to disproportionately impact people of limited means and people of colour, effectively denying them the right to vote. Section 10(a) of the VRA declares that the requirement of paying a poll tax as a precondition to voting is unconstitutional and denies citizens' constitutional right to vote.

In addition, the VRA provided for the appointment of federal examiners to register qualified citizens to vote in jurisdictions that were ""covered" according to a formula provided in the statute. Section 6 of the VRA states that any person found by the examiner to have the qualifications prescribed by state law, consistent with the US Constitution and laws, shall be placed on a list of eligible voters. This ensured that citizens with the legal right to vote were promptly added to the voter rolls.

The VRA has been reauthorized and expanded multiple times, including in 1970, 1975, 1982, and 2006, to strengthen its protections and ensure its enforcement. However, the VRA and its provisions have also faced legal challenges over the years, with the Supreme Court playing a significant role in interpreting and shaping the application of the Act. Notably, the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision struck down the coverage formula in Section 4(b) of the VRA, which determined which jurisdictions required federal preclearance for changes in their election policies. This effectively eliminated the requirement for preclearance, allowing jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to change their voting processes without federal oversight.

Discrimination and minority rights

The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 was enacted to enforce the fifteenth amendment to the US Constitution, which was passed in 1870. The VRA aimed to address the ongoing disenfranchisement of African Americans, who, despite the passage of the 15th Amendment, continued to face discriminatory voting practices for nearly 100 years. These practices included poll taxes, literacy tests, all-white primaries, grandfather clauses, intimidation, and violence.

The VRA established proactive protections for the right to vote, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, colour, or previous servitude. Section 2 of the VRA is a nationwide prohibition against voting practices and procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, colour, or membership in a language minority group. It prohibits both intentionally discriminatory election practices and those that result in the denial or abridgment of the right to vote based on race or colour. Section 4 of the VRA sets forth criteria for determining whether a jurisdiction is covered under certain special provisions of the Act, while Section 5 required "covered" jurisdictions to obtain preclearance for any new voting practices and procedures.

The VRA has been a target of conservatives on the Supreme Court, and several decisions have limited its application. In 2013, the Supreme Court, in Shelby County v. Holder, held that while preclearance was constitutional, the formula used to determine which states and localities should be required to obtain it was outdated and thus unconstitutional. This effectively rendered the preclearance requirement unenforceable, removing federal oversight of voting processes in places with a history of discrimination.

Despite progress made under the VRA, evidence reveals that discrimination persists, and minority voters continue to face barriers to full participation in the electoral process. The VRA has been reauthorized and expanded multiple times to address ongoing discrimination and protect minority voting rights. The 2006 reauthorization passed unanimously in the Senate, reflecting a bipartisan commitment to safeguarding the rights enshrined in the VRA.

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