CONGRESS PRESSED TO RENEW '65 VOTING RIGHTS ACT

CONGRESS PRESSED TO RENEW '65 VOTING RIGHTS ACT

April 8, 2006

Miami Herald, The (FL)

Civil-rights attorneys and activists on Friday issued a report urging the federal government to renew various protections under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Provisions protecting the rights of non-English-language speakers to vote and requiring some jurisdictions to submit any election changes to the Justice Department will expire in 2007 unless Congress reauthorizes them. Advocates say legislation for renewal will come before the House in a few weeks.

JoNel Newman, a University of Miami law professor who authored the report, ``Voting Rights in Florida 1982-2006,'' said increased voting participation by minorities is evidence that the law's provisions should be renewed.

`KEEP IT IN PLACE'

In the report, written in conjunction with the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Newman urged Congress to broaden the act to specifically cover Haitian Creole speakers.

``There is evidence of the law's positive impact. There is a need to keep it in place,'' Newman said.

With existing provisions, civil-rights groups in Florida have won some court challenges to local voting practices:

* In 2002, Haitian-American voters complained to the U.S. Justice Department that there were few Creole-speaking poll workers at local precincts. Miami-Dade County officials agreed to improve language-assistance programs to head off litigation. It trained poll workers on how to handle requests for language assistance and established voter education programs - and forms - for Creole speakers.

* After the controversial 2000 presidential election, the NAACP and other civil-rights groups filed a federal discrimination suit against elections departments in Miami-Dade, Broward and five other counties. Those suits were settled after the counties agreed to change voter registration and polling practices.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 ended discrimination by prohibiting literacy tests, poll taxes and unfair redistricting . The measure initially was designed to protect blacks, primarily in Southern states that had a history of denying them access to voting booths.

Friday's report, commissioned by a coalition of civil-rights organizations, points to the act's widespread positive impact on Florida 's Spanish speaking population.

1975 EXPANSION

In 1975, specific act provisions were expanded to cover five Florida counties - Collier, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough and Monroe - which were accused of discriminating against Hispanics and Native Americans who did not speak English well.

It has since been expanded to require language assistance and Election Day monitors to ensure equal access to the ballot box.

Lida Rodriguez Taseff, attorney and a founder of the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition, said Florida has experienced a surge in the numbers of Hispanic elected officials, from 13 in 1973 to 119 in 2005.

``That explosive growth would not have happened without the Voting Rights Act,'' Rodriguez Taseff said.

She added that some Hispanic communities still mistakenly believe the act applies mainly to blacks.

RECENT COMPLAINTS

Not so, said Cesar Perales, an official with the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. He and others pointed to ongoing litigation filed on behalf of Hispanic voters in Osceola County stemming from a 1998 decision by officials to switch from single-member to at-large voting districts.

Residents said the county discriminated against them by diluting their voting strength and a chance to elect leaders of their choice. Two Voting Rights Act lawsuits, one federal and one local, are pending.

Osceola County , in Central Florida , has a 35 percent Hispanic population.

``The reaction you get from locals is that it's as bad as it was 40 years ago,'' Perales said. ``Some may say you no longer need the Voting Rights Act. I think in Florida we're getting evidence you need this badly.''

Author: ANDREA ROBINSON, arobinson@MiamiHerald.com

Section: Metro & State

Page: 3B