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NAACP OFFICIALS WITNESS BUSH SIGN VOTING RIGHTS ACT : 'Today's signing was historic. However we ought not sit back and relax.' -- Bruce S. Gordon

(July 28, 2006)

Almost exactly one week from making the declaration, President George W. Bush made good on a promise by signing the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act (VRA) of 2006 in a south lawn ceremony at the White House Thursday morning before a throng of noted African American leaders and celebrities. The president said he would sign the historic legislation when he addressed attendees at the NAACP's 97th annual convention held in the nation's capital last week.

"Today's signing was historic," said NAACP President & CEO Bruce S. Gordon. "It is worthy of our celebration. However we ought not sit back and relax. The law is only as good as its enforcement. I commend the president for expressing his firm commitment to enforcement. I look forward to working with the administration, particularly Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, to ensure that the Department of Justice follows through on the president's commitment."

Over the last year, several states have attempted to compromise the principles of the VRA of 1965. Voter identification requirements in Georgia defy the spirit of the act. Unfortunately, the Department of Justice (DOJ) chose to pre-clear the Georgia law anyway.

The State of Louisiana failed to accommodate the unique voting requirements of Hurricane Katrina evacuees. The DOJ pre-cleared those voting rights abuses as well.

The states of Indiana and Ohio are moving to the top of the list of voting rights abusers. They too need to be monitored closely. "Today is history in the making, but the final chapters are yet to be written," Gordon said.

Following voter intimidation and attacks by Jim Crow states, the VRA was originally enacted in 1965 to insure that no federal, state or local government may in anyway impede people from registering to vote or casting a meaningful ballot because of their race or ethnicity. Most provisions in the VRA, and specifically the portions guaranteeing that no one may be denied the right to vote because of race or color, are permanent. However, three key sections of the act were due to expire next year. On July 20 the U.S. Senate voted 98-0 to pass the act. The House of Representatives approved a similar measure 390-33 a week earlier.

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

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source:

John C. White

NAACP Office of Communications

410.580.5125

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