VOA慢速英语2021--56年后的《投票权法案》面临危险

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."

Shelby County v. Holder¹³

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

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

3 lessened   

减少的，减弱的

参考例句：

• Listening to the speech through an interpreter lessened its impact somewhat. 演讲辞通过翻译的嘴说出来，多少削弱了演讲的力量。
• The flight to suburbia lessened the number of middle-class families living within the city. 随着迁往郊外的风行，住在城内的中产家庭减少了。

4 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

5 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

7 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

8 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

10 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

11 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

12 outlawed   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Most states have outlawed the use of marijuana. 大多数州都宣布使用大麻为非法行为。
• I hope the sale of tobacco will be outlawed someday. 我希望有朝一日烟草制品会禁止销售。

13 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

14 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

15 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

16 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

17 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

18 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

19 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

20 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。