Since passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, first Southerners -- and then Republicans in general -- have engaged in a persistent effort to evade the requirements of the statute and to limit the voting rights of those the Act sought to protect. This was David Domke's thesis last night, in his second of three lectures dealing with voting rights and the 2020 election.
Professor Domke played a clip of President Lyndon Johnson's address to Congress, eight days after the suppression of a peaceful Black march and demonstration in Selma, Alabama. The speech was sober, heart-felt, and insistent -- it was the duty of Congress to pass a voting rights act, and to do so quickly.
There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem.
...
And we are met here tonight as Americans—not as Democrats or Republicans—we are met here as Americans to solve that problem. And so at the request of your beloved Speaker and the Senator from Montana; the majority leader, the Senator from Illinois; the minority leader, Mr. McCulloch, and other Members of both parties, I came here tonight—not as President Roosevelt came down one time in person to veto a bonus bill, not as President Truman came down one time to urge the passage of a railroad bill—but I came down here to ask you to share this task with me and to share it with the people that we both work for. I want this to be the Congress, Republicans and Democrats alike, which did all these things for all these people.
Beyond this great chamber, out yonder in 50 States, are the people that we serve. Who can tell what deep and unspoken hopes are in their hearts tonight as they sit there and listen. We all can guess, from our own lives, how difficult they often find their own pursuit of happiness, how many problems each little family has. They look most of all to themselves for their futures. But I think that they also look to each of us.
He electrified listeners by quoting the title of the song adopted by the Black rights movement -- "We Shall Overcome." Martin Luthur King, watching the speech on television, reportedly wiped away tears from his eyes.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was drafted and passed overwhelmingly by Congress just five months later, with only some Southerners in opposition, and signed by the President.
Domke remarked on the similarity of issues facing the country in 1965 to those in 2020. He didn't need to point out in detail the differences in presidential responses.
Those seeking to limit voting by Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and lower income Americans have adopted three basic approaches since 1965. Unlike the post-Civil War Reconstruction laws, these approaches have not been specifically racial, and they don't make voting impossible. Just much more difficult -- or even a bit more difficult, which has been enough to change election results.
1. Voter ID laws. Blacks and others affected are much less likely to have government issued identification than are more affluent whites. It requires additional time, money and effort to obtain that ID.
2. Elimination of the Department of Justice preclearance, which had been required by the Act of 1965 before states with discriminatory histories could change their voting laws. They succeeded in 2013 in a 5-4 Supreme Court decision along liberal-conservative lines.
3. Expunging voter rolls of the names of persons who haven't voted in recent elections. Infrequent voters, less likely to be affluent whites, arrive at the polls and learn that they are no longer registered to vote.
In conclusion, Domke noted that John Roberts, since he was a legal adviser to President Reagan, has worked tirelessly to undermine key provisions of the 1965 act. His final success came in 2013, when, as Chief Justice, he cast the deciding vote invalidating the preclearance requirement.
Next week, Professor Domke will discuss voter suppression -- specifically as a factor in this year's presidential election.
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