On Aug. 6, 1965, 50 years ago today, Pres. Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, breaking down legal barriers at the state and local level that had prevented African Americans and others from exercising their constitutional right to vote.
It’s reprehensible that there are those today who are trying to stop some Americans from voting because they think certain classes of people won’t vote for them. It’s just plain wrong.
And two years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a key part of the law.
The U.S. League of Women Voters is fighting for voting rights, and it’s asking everyone to join them in telling Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act.
Congress currently has before it various proposals to restore the Voting Rights Act, but has taken no action in spite of mounting evidence of voter discrimination, the league said.
“Every day that Congress fails to act Americans are at risk of finding new barriers at the polls, the league said on its website. “In fact, we are dangerously close to holding our first presidential election in 50 years without the critical protections once embodied in the VRA.”
