Still, until this day, individuals have tried to disenfranchise minority voters especially in Texas, Florida, Mississippi, etc. This district is within Austin, therefore within Texas and whether or not they register voters is irrelevant. Every district in Texas should be subject to the law. There is no substance in the statement that because we have a President of African decent that racism and discrimination no longer exists. It is still prevalent as witnessed in the rise of hate groups. The priveledged conservatives seem to think the US does not need these types of government intervention because discrimination does not affect them so they are desensitized to reality. And, dare I say that conservatives really don't give a damn.(The District is also far less racially diverse and far wealthier than its surrounding county: "The combined African-American and Latino population of the district is 7%, compared to 37.2% for the County. The District's annual median family income of $103,200 is nearly double that of the County as a whole.") Source: Alliance for JusticeIf a district is less racially diverse than the surrounding county, that may somehow speak to underlying discrimination which in turn speaks to the racial economic disparity in this country. The economic disparity in this country is directly related to it's history of voting rights, ownership of property, discrimination in lending, marriage, etc., and therefore makes the argument to keep the Voting Rights Act for all districts. We're not done yet..

There is NO NEED for Section 5, because, Amendment 15 and 19 Make Sure that Blacks Rights to Vote are upheld, and in this day and age, section 5 is Not Needed.Amendment 15 - Race No Bar to Vote. Ratified 2/3/1870. History1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.Amendment 19 - Women's Suffrage. Ratified 8/18/1920. HistoryThe right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation..

I'm not surprised by this at all. Texas, Missippi, and other Southern states STILL want to keep "their negros" under the thumb of Jim Crow laws, and this proves it! .

Why don't legislation just get over it and turn this ACT into LAW so that it doesn't have to be addressed every 5 years. What is there to review we are American citizens and should have equal rights to vote just like everyone else..

If those amendments particulary the XV as the writer says passed in 1870,protected voting rights why did we have the Civil Rights Bill in 1968 ???Has the reader ever heard of the Slaughterhouse cases?Did the writer ever here of poll taxes,white primaries and grandfather clauses????. Does the writer understand how few Blacks there were before the voting rights act voting in the south???.

I hope that people understand the importance of this Act. This is not just knit-picking and whining from the "black community". This legislation sets the standard for the voting rights of not just black Americans, but sets the precedent for all underrepresented groups in voting practice. This includes LGBT, immigrant populations, and even members of certain religions. Black Americans championed the most definitive rights movement to date and created the template for modern movements on down, but civil rights concern all citizens and this should not be dismissed as a black issue. That in itself is sad. The rejection of this Act by a conservative Court affects us all. In reference to the 15th Amendment Comment: Apparently lynch campaigns, firehoses and today's voter intimidation practices bulldozed this 1870 Reconstruction legislation soon after it was enacted. That's why the Voter's Rights Act was needed in 1965. The damage is already done when states allow an election compromised by socioeconomic discrimination to stand and recourse for justice can take years to reach the courts; at best, lagging our democratic process. Dependence on Reconstruction legislation is no solution; it's a blindeye. The same Southern states who had black congressman proceeded to enforce Jim Crow, wrongful imprisonment and murder with the 15th Amendment dry on paper. History. This Act should be protected so that all Americans are protected..

I say it needs to go.I ask, where was the justice system when Black Panthers were denying access to vote in this last Presidential election?The longer we keep convincing ourselves that we need protection from ourselves, the longer this nonsense if going to continue. Let's face it; large scale racism is over in the US.The only racism that I've seen in the US in the past 20 years, is by blacks.Practices like these need to stop, or racism will never stop..

It is always interesting that so many people automatically conclude that the Voting Rights Act and Affirmative Action are "for Blacks." They fail to realize that minorities include white women. Do they forget the struggle that white women had to get the right to vote and to be accepted legally as citizens? Just recently an Alabama woman sued for back pay because men had been paid more, even though she worked in the same position. The company balked, and people who should be upholding the law made excuses about "how long ago" even though it was proven that such information was withheld from her for years. What some people miss is that the federal legislation transcends actions by states that do the sneaky stuff to keep folks from voting. And it's not limited to southern states, i.e., Michigan, where the GOP wanted to challenge people whose houses had been foreclosed on, even though they still lived in them.For the record, when somebody says that President Obama's election proved that racial discrimination just think about all those folks who said they would not vote for him because he is Black. Think about all those folks who made a point to stress his middle name and continued to emphasize the lie that he is Muslim. I'd say that qualifies as racial discrimination, and have they changed? So, because of a wave of new voters, independent voters, crossover Republicans, and the Democratic Party faithful, Obama wins and America declares the struggle is over, right? And if that's not enough, how about the nervousness and hostility that some GOP campers are experiencing because Michael Steele is chairman of the RNC? And, mark it down, racial discrimination is alive and well if ethnic jokes are being told with a preference or out of earshot of someone who will be offended. President Obama is a Black man because he chooses to be, the media projects him as such, society would not dare allow him to claim that he is white, even though his mother was white. Do you realize that once upon a time in American that the race of the child was determined by the racial heritage of the mother? So, before the Civil War (War Between the States) President Obama would have been counted as white. I wonder what would have happened if he had chosen to be white? Would it really matter? Which parent is responsible for providing the intelligence gene? Which is responsible for his basketball savy? Given the intelligence of George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush, there remain questions about the gene pool with reference to our former President's cerebral level.Just remember that soemeone is always looking for ways to exploit the removal of legislation that protects the rights of citizens. You may think it does not affect you, but you never know when it will. .

Just in case someone reads the first post by Ervin Denkins with the statement: Do you realize that once upon a time in American that the race of the child was determined by the racial heritage of the mother? So, before the Civil War (War Between the States) President Obama would have been counted as white.This statement is simply wrong from a historical standpoint. Pres. Obama would not have been counted as white before the Civil War. Quite the contray, based on the "one drop of blood" rule, meaning if you were determined to have any "black blood" in you, Obama would have been considered black or mulatto, but absolutely not white!.

dont be rasist people.