Outline
If the Voting Rights Act was enacted to outlaw discriminatory voting practices that had disenfranchised the African Americans, is there a possibility that the 2008 election exposed the Act’s secret agenda?
Introduction
Voting Rights in the United States of America have been contentious since the first of elections in the country. Crews (2007), explains that since 1607, the first election held by Jamestown voyagers, progress toward inclusion of potential voter groups in the United States has been marked by difficulties.
As much as the 1965 Voting Rights Act, appeared to have put the minority in the mainstream political landscape of the United States of America, It also seemed to be a tool to check the political growth of the African American population. The Act eliminated deliberate restrictions on minority voting as well as the creation of minority congressional districts that aimed at protecting minority electoral participation. For instance, the results of the 1990 censures led to the creation of more congressional districts that saw the increase in the number of minorities especially African Americans in congress. North Carolina’s 12th congressional district is a good example, with an African American representative for 19 years in a state with a majority white population compared to the African American. However, the results of the 2008 presidential elections seemed to have led many states countrywide to renege on the provisions of the Voting Rights Act. According to Ansolabehere (2010) Barack Obama’s victory in 2008 proved a very simple fact — a black candidate can win in the majority-white constituency that is the national presidential electorate. Mas (2008) considers the racial attitudes in the 2008 presidential elections not to be the major point in determining the outcome. Some viewed this election as posing a challenge, therefore, to the philosophical and perhaps constitutional foundations of the Voting Rights Act. On the other hand, Clarke (2009) describes the 2008 presidential elections as “the first opportunity to gauge meaningfully the influence that a non-minority vice presidential candidate can have on a minority presidential candidate’s prospects for success”.
Importance
There is a growing debate on the issue of Voting Rights and more so pre-clearance, Rogowski ( 2011) outlines that some states including Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin legislated the requirement of government-issued photo identification during the 2012 election. These states experienced a high minority percentage voter turnout in the 2008 presidential election as compared to any other previous election years. North Carolina’s governor, Dev Perdue, a Democrat vetoed the legislation adding that the Republican-controlled House would come up with ways of circumventing the governor’s objection. The effort to introduce these reforms is clear that they will reduce minorities including the African American turn out. Rogowski informs that 25% of African Americans do not hold government-issued photo identification. Such reforms introduced by the government influence the outcome of competitive elections due to the votes of minorities.
This paper intends to shed light on this issue by investigating it from a historical perspective to bring to reveal how the majority has manipulated the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 2008 presidential elections result re-ignited concerns of the issue. This paper will shed light giving a deep analysis of an issue that continues to attract opinions globally.
The Approach
- The consideration of the articles in the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the events that led to the formulation of the Act.
- The analysis of the implementation of the Voting Rights Act (section 2 particularly) and the usefulness of the Act relative to the intended purposes.
- The scrutiny of the systemic enactment of new laws across such minority areas as Winston-Salem and the county of Forsyth in North Carolina and the motivation of such actions.
- The observation of the 2008 presidential elections influencing violation of the Voting Rights Act.
Literature Review
Ansolabehere, Persily and Stewart III (2010) raise concerns regarding the relevance and the constitutionality of the provisions of the Voting Rights Act. They argue that in the 2008 presidential election, Obama succeeded among the white voters and that this puts to test the underlying conditions of racially polarized voting that are instrumental to litigation under section 2 of the Act. They further suggest that his success in states such as Virginia and even North Carolina, raises doubt about the validity of section 5 of the Act. They however fail to address the real issue that triggered the litigations against the minority as a result of the 2008 presidential election.
McCrary, Seaman and Valelly (2006), Also point out section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in relation to the Reno versus Bossier Parish School Board, 528 U.S. 230 (2000). They agree that minority-voting rights need to be protected by amending section 5 to supersede any other decisions. Their argument sets a foundation for the development of the issue at hand by touching on minority voter rights protection. This is one of the indications of the emerging ideas aimed at impeding the Voting Rights Act as stipulated by the law. It appears as a strategic violation of the Act as a pointer towards the trend but does not address the key issue.
Clarke (2009), offers a close analysis of the question at hand and outlines in detail observations made during the 2008 presidential elections. The author provides insights and analysis on the impact of Obama, a minority on the future voting rights in the United States of America. The paper demystifies claims of race polarization and Obama’s success in the 2008 presidential election. Clarke delves deep into the race issue, explicitly explaining the importance of the Voting Rights Act in addressing racial discrimination a point that is pertinent to the question at hand but falls short of fully covering the reason behind the rampant country-wide generation on the spirit of the Act.
Keeley and Whitez (2011), assert that the 1965 Voting Rights Act was an essential part of the federal government’s effort to encourage minority participation in the electoral system. They stress the importance of the creation of majority-minority congressional districts in addressing vote dilution and further delve deeper into the question of whether this has increased voter turnout. Their design looks into comparing voters moved through the redistricting process into minority-majority congressional districts to those who remained in original districts. Their conclusion is that though the redistricting process assists the minority gain office, they did not seem to increase minority participation. This research addresses part of the question but fails to investigate the cause of the state governments across the countrywide discontentment with the provisions of the Act.
Mas and Moretti (2008), address a critical part of the question. They bring in the racial twist into the 2008 presidential election. Their investigation is directed at whether racial attitude negatively affected the popular votes by Obama. Their interpretation of the evidence does not rule out racism, it however greatly points at concluding that racism may have influenced the resolve against the minority Democratic candidate, but these segments could have voted Republican regardless. Mas & Moretti introduce an interesting view that builds on the question at hand. Their findings are similar to Clarke’s(2009).
References
Ansolabehere, S., Persily, N., & Stewart III, C. 2010. “Race, Region, and Vote Choice in the 2008 Election: Implications for the Future of the Voting Rights Act.” Harvard Law Review.
Clarke, K. 2009. “The Obama Factor: The Impact of the 2008 Presidential Election on Future Voting Rights Act Litigation.” HeinOnline.
Crews, E. 2007. “Voting In Early America.” CW Journal.
Keeley, L., & Whitez, I. 2011. “African American Turnout in Majority-Minority Districts.” 2011.
Mas, A., & Moretti, E. 2008. Racial Bias in the 2008 Presidential Election. American Econmic Review 323-329.
McCrary, P., Seaman, C. B., & Valelly, R. 2006. “The End of Preclearance As We Knew It: How the Supreme Court Transformed Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.” Michigan Journal of Race & Law.
Rogowski, J. 2011. “The Racial Impact of Voter Identification Laws in 2012 Election.” Web.