Ridley-Thomas and Molina Lead LA County to Demand Voting Rights

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors VOTED to call on Congress to update 

Section 4 of the Civil Rights Act to enable the Department of Justice to review changes in voting laws that threaten the ability of citizens to cast a ballot for candidates of their choice.
The 1963 March on Washington was a watershed event that set the stage for Congress to enact the Voting Rights Act of 1965, giving the federal government the power to enforce the 14th, 15th and 19th Amendments to the Constitution.

But earlier this summer, on June 25th, in Shelby County v. Holder,
a divided Supreme Court struck down a key provision 
of the Voting Rights Act as unconstitutional. Section 4,
known as the coverage formula, identifies the regions of
the country that permit the U.S. Department of Justice
to review and pre-clear changes to voting laws within
those jurisdictions that may have a discriminatory
impact or effect.

Testifying before the board on the importance of maintaining
strong voter protection laws were local and nationally
recognized civil rights leaders, including Rev. James 
Lawson Jr., a key tactician and teacher of nonviolence
who worked closely with the Martin Luther King Jr.,
Raphael Sonenshein, director of the Pat Brown Institute
for Public Affairs at California State University,
Northridge, Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican
American Legal Defense and Educational Fund,
Virginia Lee, of the Advancement Project, Eugene Lee,
Voting Rights Project Director, Asian Americans
Advancing Justice – Los Angeles, Rick Davis, Regional
Director, Lambda Legal and Lola Ungar, Vice President
and Action Chair, League of Women Voters. The
motion, sponsored by Supervisors Mark Ridley-
Thomas and Gloria Molina, sends a
message from the largest County in the nation that
a revision of the Voting Rights Act must be
done by Congress.

“Nobody should ever use voter suppression as 
an ordinary tool of politics,” said Sonenshein.
“If those who represent California make clear that
the Voting Rights Act, admired and supported by
both parties, must be made whole, this will send
a message that will resound across the nation.”

Saenz said that the Voting Rights Act played a 
central role in diversifying Los Angeles County 
government as well.

“The composition of this board changed, in my view,
for the better and helped to ensure representation
of the entirety of the County and its diversity,”
noted Saenz.

Chairman Ridley-Thomas emphasized that the 
freedom to vote is a centerpiece of democracy.

“The hallmark of a democratic society is the healthy
exchange of views,” said Ridley-Thomas. “We want
to make sure that those who wish to participate
do participate.”

James Lawson noted that civil rights are entwined
with voting rights.

“At this stage of the game in the United States we
should have national and local leadership committed
to the universal right to vote,” he said. “This motion
asks Congress, Republican and Democrats alike, to
move swiftly so that this right is not abdicated in
many parts of the country.”