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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Voting Rights Act, 56 Years Later, Is in Danger
The U.S. Congress passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Within months of its approval, the law permitted hundreds of thousands of African Americans to register to vote.
But as the law turns 56 this month, voting rights supporters say the legislation faces the most serious dangers yet to its existence.
One threat is a set of restrictive voting rules passed by Republican-controlled states across the nation. The other is a conservative-controlled Supreme1 Court which has steadily2 lessened3 the legal protections under the law.
State legislation to limit voting rights
The Brennan Center for Justice reported that nearly 400 bills described as election reform have been introduced in 49 states this year. Of these bills, 30 have been signed into law in 18 states.
The center said the laws will make it harder for Americans to vote. They include restrictions4 on mail voting and early voting. They also add stronger voter identification requirements and make it easier to remove certain voters.
Democrats5 called the new laws a form of voter suppression. In Texas, Democratic lawmakers even left the state to prevent the Republican majority from holding a vote.
U.S. President Joe Biden criticized the bills as an assault on hard-won voting rights. Speaking from Philadelphia in July, Biden said, "The 21st century Jim Crow assault is real." The term was about the 19th- and 20th-century racial segregation6 laws. It is now used to describe voter suppression moves.
Republican officials behind the laws say they are meant to prevent fraud and bring back public confidence in elections. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said of the state's new election law, "Georgia will take another step toward ensuring our elections are secure, accessible and fair."
Rights to vote
The U.S. Constitution did not guarantee everyone the right to vote. Black men first gained the right to vote, after the Civil War, with the passage of the 15th Amendment7 in 1870. But some southern states still restricted the right to vote by requiring them to pay taxes or to pass a literacy test, setting off a long struggle for civil rights.
An important marker in the movement came on March 7, 1965. On that day, a group of 600 activists8 led by John Lewis marched from Selma, Alabama, to the state's capital, Montgomery, to register Black voters. They were violently attacked by police. Images of the incident known as "Bloody9 Sunday" were televised around the country. It caused a national outcry that brought support for voting rights legislation.
Lewis, who suffered a skull10 fracture in the march, went on to become a member of Congress. "It was worth the suffering of so many people. It was worthy11 of the blood that some of us gave," Lewis said in a 2015 interview with VOA.
On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. It outlawed12 the literacy tests that had made it almost impossible for many Blacks to register to vote. More importantly, it included two measures, known as Section 4 and Section 5, requiring states to get federal approval for any change in their voting laws and policies.
Marc Morial, a former mayor of New Orleans, now heads the National Urban League. He told VOA that the two sections "made democracy fair, level and evenhanded."
Both Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court supported the law throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Then, in 2013, the Supreme Court weakened the law, voting 5-4 to cancel Section 4. The ruling effectively ended the requirement that states, mainly in the south, have to get federal approval for any change in their voting laws and policies.
In the 50 years since the Voting Rights Act's passage, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that "things have changed dramatically" in the areas that are subject to the law, making the requirement unnecessary.
Within hours of the ruling, the state of Texas announced that it would immediately require a photo identification to vote. That state law had been blocked under the Voting Rights Act. Soon, other states did the same thing.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court approved two Arizona voting rules that were not permitted under the act. The first rule throws out votes entered in the wrong polling area. The second makes it a crime for anyone other than family members or caregivers to collect a voter's ballot14.
Democrats argued that both rules made voting more difficult for minority voters - in violation15 of Section 2. But the six conservative justices of the Supreme Court rejected the argument that the voting laws cause unnecessary problems for voters.
New voting rights laws
Viewing the Supreme Court as hostile to voting rights, Democrats have introduced two bills in Congress to protect the gains of the Voting Rights Act.
The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement16 Act would once again require certain areas to get federal approval for changing their voting rules.
Another legislation, known as the For the People Act, would create automatic voter registration17 across the country, restore voting rights to criminals who have completed their sentences, and expand early and mail voting, among other measures.
Republican opposition18 makes it unlikely that the two proposals will pass this year.
Words in This Story
segregation – n. the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, religions, etc., separate from each other
(voter) fraud – n. intentional19 corruption20 of the election process by voting in the wrong district or under a false identification
ensure – v. to make (something) sure, certain, or safe
access – n. a way of being able to use or get something
fracture – v. to cause a crack or break in (something hard, such as a bone)
dramatic – adj. sudden and extreme
polling – n. the act of voting in an election
![收听单词发音](/images/play.gif)
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supreme
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adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的 | |
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steadily
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adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地 | |
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lessened
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减少的,减弱的 | |
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restrictions
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约束( restriction的名词复数 ); 管制; 制约因素; 带限制性的条件(或规则) | |
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democrats
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n.民主主义者,民主人士( democrat的名词复数 ) | |
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segregation
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n.隔离,种族隔离 | |
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amendment
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n.改正,修正,改善,修正案 | |
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activists
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n.(政治活动的)积极分子,活动家( activist的名词复数 ) | |
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bloody
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adj.非常的的;流血的;残忍的;adv.很;vt.血染 | |
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skull
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n.头骨;颅骨 | |
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worthy
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adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的 | |
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outlawed
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宣布…为不合法(outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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holder
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n.持有者,占有者;(台,架等)支持物 | |
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ballot
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n.(不记名)投票,投票总数,投票权;vi.投票 | |
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violation
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n.违反(行为),违背(行为),侵犯 | |
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advancement
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n.前进,促进,提升 | |
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registration
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n.登记,注册,挂号 | |
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opposition
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n.反对,敌对 | |
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intentional
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adj.故意的,有意(识)的 | |
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corruption
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n.腐败,堕落,贪污 | |
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