By Sherry Sherrill The Voting Rights Act, signed into law by
President Lyndon B. Johnson, is a historic piece of landmark
legislation that made voting rights discrimination a federal
offense. It contains empowering clauses and stringent remedies
to offset tactics meant to thwart the political will,
participation and power of this nation’s most marginalized
populations, including minorities, those with literacy issues,
non-English speaking persons, and the poor. As such, the act is
the federal government’s and vulnerable communities’ chief
weapon to combat efforts to disenfranchise, suppress or dilute
voters’ influence. Specifically, Section 5 of the act has to do
with certain designated regions of the country needing to obtain
advance clearance from the U.S. Justice Department or the U.S.
District Court in Washington, D.C., before making changes to
their voting policies, procedures and practices. Another clause,
Section 4, provides the formula to be used in identifying
jurisdictions that offend voting rights