Kerry Says Voting Rights Act a Good First Step, Must Do More...

[kerrygoddess]

John Kerry Says Voting Rights Act a Good First Step, America Must Do More to Erase Barriers to Voting
July 20th, 2006 @ 4:11 pm

The Senate voted to extend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for 25 more years as “Republicans sought to earn goodwill from minority voters in a congressional election year.” The roll call vote was 98-0.

Senator John Kerry spoke during the Senate debate today on his support for reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act.

John Kerry is also an original co-sponsor of the Count Every Vote Act – a comprehensive bill to make all the changes so desperately needed to address barriers to voting – whether it’s intimidation, disinformation or a lack of voting machines. This legislation is the gold standard for electoral reform. It would require clear nationwide standards for provisional ballots, same-day voter registration, a paper trail for voting machines and a ratio of voting machines per number of voters. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:

Mr. President, all over the world, the United States has always stood out as the great exporter of democratic values – in the Philippines where we stood up against the undemocratic regime of Marcos and stood for free elections; in South Africa, where we fought for years to break the back of apartheid and empower all citizens to vote; most recently in Afghanistan and Iraq where we rejoiced as many voted for the first time in their lives; and in the Ukraine where the world turned to the United States to monitor elections and ensure that the right to vote was protected.

Yet our attempts to spread freedom around the world can only be successful if our democracy works here at home.

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=3658

[PATRICK]

1. Too true

Its like Massah announcing from the plantation steps that there will be no whippings on Sundays. Sure it is magnanimous, a relief- in a way. It certainly defines how terrible the situation has become, these lowered expectations.

There is still no protection against the GOP depredations against black voters despite massive special injunctions and high profile violations.

But we get to keep the scrap of paper, along with the constitution, for a day when it will matter.

Kerry lends almost too much dignity to the debate against such a travesty.