Why does there have to be a voting rights act?

[buff2]

And why did they vote it in for only 25 years? Why didn't they vote to say,blacks don't NEED a voting rights act,they are just like everyone else and can vote FREELY. There isn't a white voting rights act is there? It doesn't make any sense to me. Why is it that in 2006 this is still in existence? Lastly,why doesn't anyone say anything about it? Khrist....twilight zone for me AGAIN.(and the idiot in chief speaks to the NAACP today,on top of it all) What a crazy bizarre country this is. :crazy:

[pitohui]

1. because they're not just like everyone else and can't always vote freely

i think the original act must have been for only 25 years because they figured it would all be fixed by now, well it isn't

anywhere the racists can get their grubby little paws on it, there are subtle and not so subtle ways to stop blacks from voting

i can name plenty from 2004 -- such things as flyers being put out that blacks trying to vote would be checked for outstanding warrants or late payments of rent, not enough voting machines going to black precincts so working black people can't vote because of the long lines, the usual nonsense

there were students at xavier in new orleans who waited 9 hrs to cast a vote in year of our lord two thousand freaking four, in my white precint i waited 30 minutes to vote

so yeah we still need a voting rights act and we need it to be more than just some nice words on paper

a twist that has arisen in the last two decades is prosecuting blacks, esp. black men more aggressively for similar crimes than whites, in that way, many blacks in many states lose their right to vote while the white person guilty of the same crime often does not

[buff2]

3. That's awful,isn't it?

It makes me wonder why some blacks vote for repukes,and why some are solid bu$h supporters.It's just plain NUTS. In 2006 color shouldn't be an issue.......but thanks to bu$h and his thugs......it is. It really pisses me off. :grr:

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. Because it's all an act... the endless lines, the people standing

in the rain, waiting for hours, being turned away for supposed felony charges, the well hung chads, the buttons turned on that kick out the ballot on error without informing the voter, the exit polls, the paperless biased machinery.... it's all just one big act for your viewing enjoyment. Perhaps Putin could have said, "I hope it will not be a democracy of the type you have created shrub".

[buff2]

4. Our democracy no longer exists

thanks to that freakin Hitler wanna be.

[SeattleGirl]

5. Because without the Voting Rights Act, even more people would

be disenfranchised, especially people of color. And no, there isn't a "white voting rights act", but whites generally have less of a problem voting than blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, etc. It's like this: If you ain't white, you ain't right. That's the thinking of a lot of people in this country, and unfortunately right now, those kind of people are at the top of the heap (whether they actually belong there or not -- but that's another subject).

I live in a pretty racially mixed neighborhood. At the local caucus in 2004, I was at a table with several other white people, and a black couple. We were talking about our voting place, which is an apartment building for retired people on fixed incomes. The outer doors lock automatically; only the residents have key. Well, to me, it was a freakin' annoyance, but to the black couple (and I admit, I'm a bit chagrined to admit that this did not occur to me at the time), that locked door was a barrier to them voting because of their color. Just another roadblock, among the many roadblocks they had faced in their lives (this couple was retired, and had been through the Civil Rights Movement in the '60's, and had also fought tooth and nail for their right to vote).

Anyway, things like that are why we need a Voting Rights Act. Is it crazy that we still need one in 2006? Yes, it is. But even more so, it is a sad statement about this country that we still need one.

I can guarantee you, though, if the majority of blacks voted Republican, there wouldn't be the kinds of roadblocks we see right now.

[Totallybushed]

6. There are permanent and

non-permanent parts of the Voting Rights Act. The non-permanent parts single out certain states with a past history of voting discrimination for special scrutiny by the federal government to ensure that discrimination does not occur there. These provisions do not apply to the rest of the states.

It was originally passed for only 5 years because it was (and maybe still is) considered to be unconstituional to discriminate agaisnt some states. It could be passed to apply to all states,but, in the past, black leadership has been against that becasue they thought that it would dilute federal resources.

Other provisions have been added as time went on, such as requiring ballots in languages other thatn English. This was part of the fight this time.

[MadMaddie]

7. It's only been 40 years or so since the Voting Rights act

was put into place.....(In order to get those rights many blacks were hung, murdered in the streets, jewish boys were killed trying to help get these acts passed)

whites weren't getting their brains bashed out or attacked by the police or bitten and chewed up by dogs...(that is unless they were supporting blacks)

Now fast forward to 2000 the Republican party (made up of many of those that didn't want blacks to have voting rights in the first place) have figured out technical ways to deter not only blacks but others that don't agree with their views...

This current government has set this country back 20 years in the march for equality for all Americans...

So we will need the Voting Rights act in place to promote equality in this country.....as long as one person in this country feels intimidated, disenfranchised at the polls, threatened...we will need the voting rights act...

Anyhoo...that's my two cents..

[AspenRose]

8. "There isn't a white voting rights act is there?"

Um, have you looked at who the majority is in this country - economically, politically, socially?

Why would the majority who have ALWAYS (women since 1920) enjoyed privilege based on the color of their skin NEED a voting rights act?

I'm sorry, but if you're white, you're not the victim here.

[Nikki Stone 1]

9. Greg Palast does show that some poor whites were done out of a vote

in "Armed Madhouse".