1. By Frances Collins LC: Race and Politics

2.   Section 2- ”ensure that the right of all citizens to vote, including the right to register to vote and cast meaningful votes, is preserved and protected as guaranteed by the Constitution” (U.S. Department of Justice)  Section 4 -determined that racial discrimination in voting had been more prevalent in certain areas of the country, established a formula to identify those areas and to provide for more stringent remedies where appropriate.  Section 5- preclearance- any attempt to change “any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting..." in any "covered jurisdiction” (U.S. Department of Justice) Voting Rights Act

3.   1970- Extends Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act for another 5 years  1975- extends Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act for 7 more years  1982- revises Section 5 of the V.R.A...to “prohibit any electoral plan that results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen...to vote on the account of race or color” (Rivers 422)  2006- renewed the V.R.A. with some minor changes such as providing for language assistance, Election Day monitors, and Justice Department pre-approval of voting changes. These are set to expire in 2031 ( The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights ) Congress

4.   Congressional Black Caucus- “for the people” magazine Volume One, Number 1 – organization founded in 1971  Feb. 27 th 1975- presented its 1 st formal legislative agenda outlining its priorities for the 94 th Congress’ 1 st session  1) to expand V.R.A. for next 10 years and passage of a universal voter participation law to make voting process easier  - Claimed V.R.A. was important to prevent gerrymandering Congressional Black Caucus

5.   Gerrymandering- gives a party or group a political advantage by drawing districts in every state  It maximizes the effect of supporters' votes and minimizes the effect of opponents' votes  Packing and Cracking Method  A) Packing = putting many of the same party voters in one district to reduce influence in others  B) Cracking = spreading out voters in a way so that no majority of one party can vote for a representative Gerrymandering

7.   Proportional representation- electoral system in which the share of seats held by a political party in the legislature closely = the share of popular votes it received (Proportional Representation)  Devised to guarantee minority groups more representation than was possible under the majority systems  Usually associated with higher turnout Proportional Representation!

8.   In 1964 and 1968, 58 % of eligible black voters voted 90-95% democratic in the presidential election  5% of the national convention delegates were black  In 1972, blacks accounted for 25.6 percent of the democratic vote for president with 52% of the eligible voters voting 8% democratic. Delegate Selection Strategy

9.   In order to accomplish this goal of having a minimum of 25 percent of the delegates and alternates at the convention efforts were undertaken  Ad Hoc Committee insured a minimum of 25 % black delegates and alternative representation in these state national convention delegations-Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Maryland, South Carolina, and North Carolina Delegate Selection

10.   For proportional representation a candidate has the right to approve any candidate for the national convention delegate identified with his candidacy  “In states electing delegates in nonbinding advisory presidential preference primaries in which votes are cast for individual delegate candidates.....the votes will constitute a fair reflection of the division of preference if such delegates are elected from districts no larger than a congressional district” (Discussion Paper on 1976 National Convention Delegate Selection Strategy)  this system in effect nullifies the proportional representation requirement and permits "de facto" winner take all elections at the C.D. level  states adopting such primaries are New Hampshire, New York, Illinois, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Nebraska, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Ohio.  encourage blacks to form alliances with other groups such as women, Hispanic Americans, mayors, etc... Delegate Selection

11.  Gerrymandering –CNN  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucm9ehYe4N M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ucm9ehYe4N M Exposing the GOP's Secret Game Plan to Win in 2012  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ddhHL8Hs M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ddhHL8Hs M 1 d 2012 Election

12.   Project 21- black conservative public policy group  filed a legal brief to the Supreme Court in support of a case that is supposed to overturn the important provisions of the Voting Rights Act...section 5  A bid was brought by authorities in Shelby County, located in Alabama  Of course people who were supporting African- Americans opposed this case Shelby County vs. Holder

13.   Republicans have for almost 50 years practiced the Southern strategy and tried to oppose any type of program that would increase minority opportunity  Mitt Romney’s showing among African-Americans, Latino, and Asian voters in this past 2012 election was very low  According to William Yeomans’ article on the blog Reuters, “If the court’s Republican majority strikes down this recently reauthorized, core provision of the Voting Rights Act...the backlash will likely ensure that Republican presidential candidates will struggle for a generation to win more than a handful of minority votes.” Republicans

14.  1."Discussion Paper on 1976 National Convention Delegate Selection Strategy." National Convention Delegate Selection Strategy. 25 Jan. 2013. Speech. 2.Harris, Paul. "Black Conservatives Launch Effort to Scrap Part of Voting Rights Act." The Guardian. The Guardian, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Jan. 2013. 3."Hartmann: Exposing the GOP's Secret Game Plan to Win in 2012." YouTube. YouTube, 21 Sept. 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. 4."Our History." The Congressional Black Caucus. The Congressional Black Caucus, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2013. 5.Kerry, Shaun. "Proportional Representation - Will It Give Us Functional Government?" Proportional Representation. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. Bibliography

15.  6.Rivers, Christina. ""Conquered Provinces"? The Voting Rights Act and State Power." Publius: The Journal of Federalism 36.3 (2006): 421-42. Print. 7.“Voting Rights Act." U.S. Department of Justice. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2013. 8. Voting Rights Act." The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2013. 9. Yeomans, William. "GOP v. Voting Rights Act | The Great Debate." The Great Debate RSS. Reuters, 10 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Jan. 2013. 1 d Bibliography cont’d