The most fundamental right : contrasting perspectives on the Voting Rights Act / edited by Daniel McCool.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

McCool, Daniel, 1950-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Voting Rights Act of 1965--Congresses.

United States.

Suffrage--United States--Congresses.

Suffrage.

Minorities--Suffrage--United States--Congresses.

Minorities.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (419 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Passed in 1965 during the height of the Civil Rights movement, the Voting Rights Act (VRA) changed the face of the American electorate, dramatically increasing minority voting, especially in the South. While portions of the Act are permanent, certain provisions were set to expire in 2007. Reauthorization of these provisions passed by a wide margin in the House, and unanimously in the Senate, but the lopsided tally hid a deep and growing conflict. The Most Fundamental Right is an effort to understand the debate over the Act and its role in contemporary American democracy. Is the VRA the corn

Contents:

Cover; CONTENTS; PREFACE; PART 1 THE POLITICAL AND LEGAL CONTEXT OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT; 1 Meaningful Votes; 2 The Constitutional Foundations of the "Preclearance" Process: How Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act Was Enforced, 1965-2005; 3 Influence District and the Courts: A Concept in Need of Clarity; PART 2 THE DEBATE; 4 The Bull Connor Is Dead Myth: Or Why We Need Strong, Effectively Enforced Voting Rights Laws; 5 Bull Connor Is Long Dead: Let's Move On; 6 The Voting Rights Act in South Dakota: One Litigator's Perspective on Reauthorization

7 Realistic Expectations: South Dakota's Experience with the Voting Rights Act8 The Continuing Need for the Language-Assistance Provisions of the Voting Rights Act; 9 Policy and Constitutional Objections to Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act; PART 3 COMMENTARY; 10 After NAMUDNO: The Shape of Future Litigation; 11 Looking Backward to and Forward from the 2006 Voting Rights Act Reauthorization; CONTRIBUTORS; INDEX; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; J; K; L; M; N; O; P; Q; R; S; T; U; V; W; Y; Z

Notes:

"The initial impetus for this book was a forum on voting rights at the University of Utah in 2006."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-60871-5

9786613921161

0-253-00710-0

OCLC:

813418433