Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Kim Alton
(202) 662-8600
July 26,2006

Lawyers' Committee Statement on the Historic Signing of the Voting Rights Act

WASHINGTON, DC - Tomorrow's historic signing of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) by President Bush will continue the legacy of one of the most effective civil rights laws ever passed by Congress to prevent discrimination. The renewed and restored VRA will open the doors for millions of Americans to participate in the political process.

As the 41st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act approaches, the Lawyers' Committee is pleased that the Voting Rights Act received an unprecedented level of bipartisan and bicameral support in Congress and will be signed by President Bush well before the law's expiration next year.

Despite this victory, the Lawyers' Committee remains troubled by the overwhelming evidence of ongoing voting discrimination, as documented by the National Commission on the Voting Rights Act. In addition, the Lawyers' Committee is concerned about the Justice Department's continued failure to enforce all of the provisions of the VRA.

“I commend the Congress and the President for supporting the Voting Rights Act and for refusing to play politics with something as fundamental to our democracy as the right to vote,” said Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee. “Tomorrow's ceremony represents more than just a photo opportunity for President Bush. Rather, it is a real chance for this Administration to begin to truly enforce all of the provisions of the Voting Rights Act,” added Arnwine.

Barbara Arnwine will attend tomorrow's signing of the Voting Rights Act at the White House and will be available for comment. She will be joined by the Honorable Joe Rogers, Commissioner, National Commission on the Voting Rights Act, and Former Republican Lieutenant Governor of Colorado; Chandler Davidson, Commissioner, National Commission on the Voting Rights Act and Radoslav Tsanoff Professor of Public Policy Emeritus at Rice University; Charles Ogletree, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School; Marjorie Press Lindblom, Co-Chair, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights; and Marsha E. Simms, Co-Chair Elect, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights.

The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights legal organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to provide legal services to address racial discrimination. The Lawyers' Committee formed the National Commission on the Voting Rights Act, a study panel which crafted a recent report on the status of the Act since its last reauthorization, drawing on testimony from over 100 witnesses at 10 hearings it held across the country.


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