SAT.. JULY 25,1331
T2CAr.:urTi"ES-i3
Questions arid Answers On Extension Of The Voting Rights Act
Jbe Yoting Rights Act is one of the most .
1 oportant and effective civil rights laws
j itr passed by Congress. As a result of the
ct, hundreds of thousands of black and
Ispanic Americans have been able to excr-
se the most precious of constitutional
;ghtt the right to vote.; Major; provi-
ons of the Voting Rights Act are schedul- :
d to expire in August, 1982, unless Con
gress Acts to extend them, t
t ' ;
' . What b the voting Rights Act?
f The Voting Rights Act was enacted in
965 and continued in 1970 and 1975 to
rotect constitutionally guaranteed' voting
ights which had been systematically denied
Macks in the South. The Act also' protects
die voting rights of Hispanics and other
language minority citizens against severe
Voting discrimination in Other parts of the
OUnU;;-;;;;-r;.;;i:; v '
2. Why is It important to act on the Voting
Sights Act now?
Kejj provisions bf the Voting Rights Act
ire due to expire in August. 1982 unless
4 Rftmn,s
Congress votes to extend the Act. It is im- ;
portant for the House to complete action .
on the bill this year to ensure that there will
be sufficient time for the difficult Senate
fight. ' ,
3. What are the key provisions of the
Voting Rights Act? . .
'' The Voting Rights Act Includes both per-.
' manent and temporary or "special provK
sions. Among the permanent provisions is
a nationwide ban on .Uteracy tests The
most important temporary provisions are.
Section 5, which stops other means of
discrimination, such as racial gerrymander
ing, changes from single member to at
large elections, and last minute shifts in
polling places by requiring certain state and
local governments with a proven history
of discrimination to preclear any new
changes in voting or election procedures
with the Justice Department, Covered
jurisdictions must show that proposed
changes will not discriminate against
minority voters;
Section 203. which requires certain state
and local jurisdictions with a concentration
Colonial Bombs
By Laura Parks ,
j NNPA United Nations ;
" Correspondent
I Neither Prime Minister
Thatcher of Britain nor
French President Mit
ferand believe that Iraq
was irr the process of
building atomic weapons.
The West , German
authorities were reluctant
to express similar views
for fear of incurring the
pre-election wrath of
Israeli Prime ' Minister
Begin. ' . x
' President Reagan, play
ing political possum, pro
fessed not to know all the
facts, took cover behind
an "investigation into the
matter.' - The Soviets and,
Chinese were as one in
condemning the Israelis.
I The Arab, nations, argu
ing for military; and .
economic v sanctions
against Israel, went on to
point out the reason for
the;! attack. They assert
that the " . fundamental
motive of the Israeli
I leadership's U command
f dedsion M trike at the
' atomic plant was and is to
. prevent the Arab jnations
from develooina a
vXtechnlcal-sentififl bas:.
Xhis..base would then-b
tm foMdatton 6ff whlcK
to build-, an. industrial
esiaousnmcni ana cuu uic
Israeli - , : industrial
hegemony . in the, Middle
ast,. largely established
ith American money.
; For their part, the
Israelis continue to claim
that the; attack, was purely
at defensive measure
against a nation soon to
possess the atomic bomb.
Defending ; his actions,
Prime Minister Begin of
Israel said there would not
be a second holocaust in
his lifetime.
From basic positions,
the nations will argue their
respective cases before the
United Nations and world
public opinion. The
course of the debate will
depend on how each na
tion assesses the present
overall world situation
a
f
and how the Israeli-Iraq
: crisis fits in this picture. .
: Britain and the United
States, eager to establish a
strong; Egyptian-Israeli
bastion hi the region, but
at the same time fearful of
antagonizing the Arab na
tions, will, probably con- ,
demn the attack while at
the same time
''understand the feelings
of the Israelis." Neither
the British nor the U.S.
will permit sanctions
against Israel.
West Germany and
France will take a harsher
line against the attack
since both curry favor
with the Arab world for
solid economic reasons.
Neither the Germans nor
the French are convinced
about the military role of
the U.S. in the Middle
East or about the con-
templated military
buildup of the Egyptian
Israel block.
They are even less in-,
clined to follow policies
that f would perpetuate
Arab and Third World
dependence on the in
dustrial West. Taking the
long view,1 both nations
, feeUhe long term survival t
on rafcsTve economic ex
pansion in the Third world
accompanied by economic
expansion in the West,
both complementing each
other.. From this point of
view the Begin raid was ut
terly foolish.
The Chinese will use
harsh language to attack
Israel. Israel will be accus
ed of following im
perialistic policies, of be-
ing the repeated aggressor
in pie region against the
Palestinian people,
against Lebanon and now
against Iraq. The Chinese
will thus be consolidating
their position within the
Arab, world.
The' Chinese, following
their harsh attack on
Israel, will probably take a
side swipe at the Soviet
Union for their presence
in Afghanistan. They will
soft peddle their remarks
against the United States
for fear of giving aid and
comfort to the Russians.
It will be the Soviet
Union that will lead the
major assault against the
Israeli attack. For the
Soviets, the arch enemy is
Imperialism in all of its
manifestations. In the
Middle : East, this
manifestation is Israel
under the Begin govern
ment. This government
Works in an intimate and
often secret manner with
the United States to keep
the Arab world under con
trol and make it depen
dent on America for food,
technology, medicine and
scientific know-how.
The attack will be as
much against Israel as it
will be against the United
States and Secretary of
State Haig.' They will
show the aggressive collu
sion between Israel and
South Africa in the Mid
dle East and Africa. They
will warn that the present
divisions within the Arab
world offer the Im
perialists their targets of
opportunity and further
that these divisions are ac
tively fostered by U.S.
economic and political ac
tions. '
' The Soviets will call the
;.csacSr. ;,t&cv wotfe
irrtdmenv who befievtf tint
!re-emptive strikes will
ead to peace. They will
say the attack has hor
rified all thinking men
who fear the power of the
atom. Then they will cast
doubt in the minds of
many by showing that the
friends and allies of the
United States use
American weapons
without permission when
everyone knows that the
condition for selling these
weapons was conditioned
on obtaining prior U.S.
approval before being us
ed. ..,:'.:;.,,.::
Then will come a blunt
Soviet warning to Western
Europe, now debating the
stationing of additional
U.S. medium range
missiles, there, to ponder
how willful men and
governments, on either
of language minority population to provide
assistance in other languages to voters who
are not literate or fluent in English..
4. How does Section 5 pre-ciearaoce work?
A covered state or county which wants to
; put ail election change into effect submits
the change, along with background infor
mation, to the U.Sw Justice Department.
.Within 60 days (or 120 days in special cir
cumstances), the Department responds by
"pre-clearing" the changes or by
"objecting" -to then If there is pre
clearance, the jurisdiction can implement
the changer if there is an, objection, , the
jurisdiction may not use the change.
In the covered parts of the country, any
change in voting or election procedure,
such as redistricting, annexation, re
registration requirements, polling place
changes, new rules for candidate qualifica
tion, and any other election change must be
pre-cleared under Section 5 to prevent new
forms of voter discrimination from replac
ing those that have been outlawed.
5. Where does Section S apply?
Sports Ties Provoke
Secondary Boycotts
Section 5 pre-clearance-applies in any
state or county . in the nation where a.
literacy . test was used to discriminate
against minority voters. (The formula used
by Congress to determine when a literacy
test was used to discriminate was a less than
50 turnout of eligible voters for presiden
tial election).
" Section 5 covers Alabama, Alaska,
Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi,
South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, annd half '
of North Carolina. It also covers parts of
' New York City (including the Bronx) and
parts of eleven other states from all sec
tions of the country.
6. What are some examples of the Justice
Department's preventing serious
discrimination by objecting to changes sub
mitted under Section 5, the pre-clearance
section of the Voting Rights Act?
In many cases, Section 5 has been suc
cessful even where a lawsuit under the 14th
or 15th Amendment has been unsuccessful.
For example, after an unsuccessful court
suit, Section 5 blocked the use of
discriminatory multi-member districts in
the South Carolina House of Represen
tatives. As a result, the number of black
members went from three to thirteen.
In Richmond, Virginia and San Antonio,
Texas, efforts to maintain white control
through annexation were stymied by Sec
tion 5. In each case, the annexation was
allowed to go through, but the use of ger
rymandered at-Iarge elections was blocked.
The result was the election of a substantial
number of minority representatives in each
city, because the votes of minority citizens
were not diluted. u : , '
7. Should the act be applied nationwide?
Important permanent provisions of the
VRA already apply nationwide. The act
already allows a court to require pre
clearance in any jurisdiction where serious
racial discrimination in voting is proved.
Section 5 applies in areas where the specific
problem, of discriminatory literacy tests
and substitute forms of discrimination in
voting show a proven history of discrimination.
AN "Sport is an ex
tension of politics" com
mented a recent article in
New African magazine,
"an arena of war where
nations defend ' their
honor. Like soldiers,
side of the Atlantic, may
break the fragile chain of
command, and launch at
tacks that may spell the
end of civilization?
sportsmen compete under
the banner of a nation,
and, directly or indirectly,
represent it."
The international
uproar over sports ties
with South Africa iS inten
sifying with the imminent
15-match tour to New
Zealand by South Africa's
Springboks rugby team.
The first match of the
July-September visit was
scheduled for Wednesday,
'July 22, and if all goes
well for the Springboks,
they will also play three
matches in the United
States in September while
en route home.
Organizing against the
Springboks tour began
.months ago. Prime
Minister Robert Muldoon
and the New Zealand
parliament have, to no
avail, urged the New
Zealand Rugby Football
Union to cancel its invita
tion, underscoring thfir
position by refusing the
Union a $10,000 govern
ment grant. However,
Muldoon is declining to go
further and use his power
to deny visas to the South
African team.
The rugby tour is the
first major South African
sporting event since pro
testers turned to a
systematic secondary
boycott against those hav
ing sports dealings with
South Africa. The United
Nations Center Against
Apartheid has published a
list of over 250 sportsper
sons and teams already
targeted. If the New
Zealand matches go ahead
as expected, the whole
country can expect
reprisals from African
countries and their sup
porters. Polls show a majority
of New Zealanders oppose
the South African team's
visit less because of
anti-apartheid sentiments
than from fear of violence
between rugby fans and
anti-tour demonstrators.
Tens of thousands of mar
chers in New Zealand
(Continued on Page 16)
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