Republicans in the House of Representatives have delayed extending the Voting Rights Act of 1965 claiming that it unfairly targets nine southern states. As a result, the extension has stalled.
'We have time to address their concerns,' Republican leaders said in a joint statement. 'Therefore, the House Republican Leadership will offer members the time needed to evaluate the legislation.'
The temporary provisions of the Voting Rights Act don't expire until 2007 but members of both parties wanted to pass it prior to this November's midterm elections to help their re-election campaigns.
The vote was originally scheduled for Wednesday and had bipartisan support.
The Voting Rights Act ended literacy tests and poll taxes used in the south to disenfranchise African Americans. Lyndon B. Johnson signed it into law in 1965. The renewal would extend the temporary parts of the bill for another 25 years.
The nine states critics claim are singled out by the bill include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. Critics claim that the extension unfairly singles out those states for actions they took more than 40 years ago. It requires those states to get federal approval before changing their voting laws.
'This carefully crafted legislation should remain clean and unamended,' explained Rep. John Conyers, (D-Michigan), who worked on the original bill, which he called 'the keystone of our national civil rights statutes.'
The bill cleared the Judiciary Committee by a vote of 33-1. It remains to be seen when the House will act on potential amendments.
