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Press Release
LULAC ALONG WITH OTHER VOTING
RIGHTS ADVOCATES URGE THE IMMEDIATE PASSAGE OF THE VOTING RIGHTS
REAUTHORIZATION.
June 29, 2006
Contact: Lizette
Jenness Olmos, (202) 365-4553
ljolmos@lulac.org
Kimberly Jackson, Bromley Communications
(210) 849-9844
Kimberly.jackson@bromcomm.com
Washington, DC
– The League of United Latin American Citizens
(LULAC) along with USHLI, The Raben Group,
MALDEF, AARP Illinois and the Census Bureau came
together as one voice to urge Congress to pass
the immediate reauthorization of the Voting
Rights Act:
“We urge passage
of this bill immediately. We must put the
pressure on Congress to renew the Voting Rights
Act. The time is long overdue,” said Dr.
Gabriela Lemus Director of Policy and
Legislation for LULAC.
The
Voting Rights Acts has been the gateway to full
political participation for Latinos and Asian
Americans as it has been for African Americans.
“It
is time to end modern day literacy tests and
return the VRA to its full potential by renewing
it for another 25 years,” said Larry Gonzalez,
The Raben Group lobbying for LCCR for Renewal.
“A
small group in Congress is attempting to return
us to a time before Latinos could count on
federal voter protections,” said Peter Zamora,
attorney with MALDEF. “We cannot allow this to
happen.”
The three key parts of the VRA
that are set to expire in 2007 unless
reauthorized include:
·
Section 5 of the Act, which requires
certain jurisdictions to obtain approval (or “preclearance”)
from the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S.
District Court in D.C. before they can put into
effect any changes to voting practices or
procedures to ensure that the change does not
discriminate.
·
Section 203 of the Act, which requires
certain jurisdictions to provide bilingual
language assistance to voters in communities
where there is a concentration of citizens who
are limited English proficient.
·
The portions of Sections 6-9 of the Act,
which authorize the federal government to send
federal election examiners and observers to
certain jurisdictions covered by Section 5 where
there is evidence of attempts to intimidate
minority voters at the poll.
The
League of the United Latin American Citizen (www.lulac.org)
the oldest and largest Latino civil rights
organization in the United States advances the
economic conditions, educational attainment,
political influence, health and civil rights of
Hispanic Americans through community-based
programs operating at more than 700 LULAC
councils nationwide.
For more information about
LULAC’s campaign to renew the Voting Rights Act,
visit our web site at
www.lulac.org.
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