WASHINGTON – Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI) voted today in favor of H.R. 9, the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks & Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Reauthorization Act, which passed the House of Representatives easily by a vote of 390-33.  The bill extends for 25 years the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark civil rights bill born in the wake of the Selma riots.  In the 41 years since its initial passage, the VRA has enfranchised millions of racial, ethnic and language minority citizens by eliminating discriminatory practices and removing other barriers to their political participation.  Kildee, one of the bill’s cosponsors, also joined House Democrats in the effort to defeat four amendments that would have weakened the bill.

“The right to vote is the cornerstone of participation in our democracy,” Kildee said. “I believe it is critical that Congress quickly enact this significant piece of legislation that strengthens and renews the Voting Rights Act, because every vote counts, and every vote must be counted.  The foundation of the American citizen’s role in our democracy should never be compromised.  I am proud to have cosponsored this bill and it is my hope it will be signed into law as soon as possible.”

The Voting Rights Act was signed into law in 1965 in direct response to overwhelming evidence of gross discrimination taking place across the country, including the use of literacy tests, poll taxes, physical intimidation, and violence.  The Voting Rights Act has since been renewed four times by bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate, and signed into law by both Republican and Democratic Presidents. 

By outlawing various tests and devices that prevented minorities from voting, the VRA enforced the 15^th Amendment’s guarantee that no citizen shall be denied the right to vote on the basis of race.  The VRA requires the federal government to issue "preclearance" before jurisdictions with a history of discriminatory voting practices can change voting procedures. It also allows the Justice Department to assign observers to monitor elections to ensure fairness.  The constitutionality of the law has been upheld by multiple Supreme Court decisions. 

The VRA was introduced on May 2 and reported out of the House Judiciary Committee eight days later by a vote of 33-1.  It was expected to be considered by the House quickly thereafter without any amendments, but the Republican leadership was forced to pull the bill from the floor schedule twice after complaints within the party.  House leadership finally allowed the bill to proceed today, but only after allowing four damaging amendments which threatened to undermine the act’s strongest provisions.  All four amendments were defeated on the House floor, with Kildee voting no on each.