Arizona Suing Feds Over Voting Rights Act

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

It's about time one of the states fought them over this. The VRA has long outlived it's usefulness. This is 2011, not 1965. The provisions are so absurd that to even relocate a polling place to the building next door requires federal approval. The VRA is also one of the reasons why we have such gerrymandered districts resulting in a lack of electoral competition. We need to move on and stop trying to punish people for mistakes their grandparents made.

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona filed a lawsuit on Thursday challenging a U.S. federal voting rights law governing how the state conducts its elections.

The Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965, outlawed discriminatory voting practices blamed for the widespread disenfranchisement of blacks, particularly in southern states.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, a Republican, said that the portion of the law requiring the state to get prior approval from the Justice Department for any changes to the state's election laws exceeds Congressional authority and is unconstitutional.

"The portions of the ... Act requiring preclearance of all voting changes are either archaic, not based in fact, or subject to completely subjective enforcement based on the whim of federal authorities," Horne said in a statement.

Arizona sues federal government over voter rights law - Yahoo! News

 

[PLYMCO_PILGRIM]

It's about time one of the states fought them over this. The VRA has long outlived it's usefulness. This is 2011, not 1965. The provisions are so absurd that to even relocate a polling place to the building next door requires federal approval. The VRA is also one of the reasons why we have such gerrymandered districts resulting in a lack of electoral competition. We need to move on and stop trying to punish people for mistakes their grandparents made.

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona filed a lawsuit on Thursday challenging a U.S. federal voting rights law governing how the state conducts its elections.

The Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965, outlawed discriminatory voting practices blamed for the widespread disenfranchisement of blacks, particularly in southern states.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, a Republican, said that the portion of the law requiring the state to get prior approval from the Justice Department for any changes to the state's election laws exceeds Congressional authority and is unconstitutional.

"The portions of the ... Act requiring preclearance of all voting changes are either archaic, not based in fact, or subject to completely subjective enforcement based on the whim of federal authorities," Horne said in a statement.

Arizona sues federal government over voter rights law - Yahoo! News

Go Phoenix


Someone has to enforce our laws, if the feds wont then its up to the states and the people.