JACL Supports Senate Hearing on Voting Rights Amendment Act
The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) joined other civil rights organizations yesterday on Capitol Hill to urge Congress to support the passage of the Voting Rights Amendment Act (VRAA). Staff from JACL National attended a crowded Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and the following rally outside the Capitol.
JACL submitted a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, noting the importance of the vote for minorities. Minorities can ensure that they are given fair and just treatment, by electing representatives who are responsive to their concerns. Few government representatives were sympathetic towards the plight of the Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, but history may have taken a different path if Issei had been permitted to become naturalized U.S. citizens and vote for delegates who would defend their rights. JACL supports the VRAA because we believe that all Americans should be able to participate in our political process, regardless of skin color or English language abilities.
The passage of the VRAA would reinstate and strengthen provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that were struck down through the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder exactly a year ago yesterday. The Supreme Court’s ruling deemed the formulas for mandatory pre-clearance of certain regions outdated. Section 5 of the VRAA would restore the pre-clearance protections removed by the Supreme Court. These protections demanded that jurisdictions (states or counties) with histories of voting discrimination be required to prove to the U.S. Department of Justice that any changes in voting laws or practices would not have a discriminatory impact on minorities.
The VRAA is critical to protecting voting rights for minorities before elections even occur, preventing costly litigation and allowing voters to freely elect the candidates they want to represent them. JACL hopes that the House of Representatives will soon follow the Senate’s lead and hold a hearing for this important piece of legislation.
