Aug-12-2006
Westmoreland clarifies position on Voting Rights Act
He was asked about the issue at a meeting Friday with local officials at the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce.

Newnan City Councilwoman Cynthia Jenkins asked Westmoreland about his opposition to the act.

"A lot of people don't understand the Voting Rights Act," he said. The act itself is permanent, but there are three sections that are temporary and must be renewed periodically.

The provisions were made temporarily because the thought was that the problems would eventually be solved, Westmoreland said.

It was also the temporary nature of the provisions that made them acceptable to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Those parts of the act actually violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution, Westmoreland said, but the justices said it was OK because they were narrowly tailored and temporary.

The two provisions that concerned Westmoreland include the one that requires approval by the Department of Justice for any and every voting change in affected areas, and the one that requires a bilingual ballot.

The requirement for pre-clearance by DOJ was based on the voter turnout in the 1964, 1968 and 1972 presidential elections, Westmoreland said. If less than 50 percent of the voting age population voted in those elections, the area had to be under pre-clearance.

In 1964, 31 percent of Georgians voted. Four years later, it had jumped to 43 percent. "That means we had a problem," Westmoreland said. But in the years since then, the number has only grown about 6 percent. 1972 was the last time it was looked at, he said.

"Can anybody change the turnout of '64, '68, and '72?" Westmoreland asked.

The amendment that he proposed would instead use the turnout from the 1996, 2000 and 2004 elections. And every four years, the oldest election will drop off and the newest will be added.

That would release about 17 counties from pre-clearance, he said.

His amendment would also have added several jurisdictions to the pre-clearance requirement, he said.

In 2000, voting irregularities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, led to many people being unsure of whom they voted for, and uncertainty about who would be elected president.

But Miami-Dade doesn't have to meet the requirements that Georgia does. In St. Louis, a judge had to issue a stay to keep polling places open longer because there were not enough voting machines. St. Louis doesn't come under the provisions either. In Milwaukee, Westmoreland said, experts found that there was more racially-polarized voting than anywhere in the South. Again, Milwaukee doesn't have to meet pre-clearance. But, Westmoreland said, under his amendment, all three areas would.

As for the bilingual ballot, Westmoreland said he doesn't feel the criteria are correct.

In the Census, people are asked whether they speak English "very well," "well," "somewhat," or "not at all."

Westmoreland said he would base the requirement for a bilingual ballot on the amount who answered "somewhat" or "not at all." But, instead, the Voting Rights Act uses those who answered "well" also. If 5 percent of the people in a precinct answer "well," "somewhat" or "not at all," an assistant must be present at each polling place, Westmoreland said.

Westmoreland's amendment failed, and President Bush renewed the act.

"What we passed isn't going to make one person better able to vote," Westmoreland said.

"What I wanted to do would."

Members of the NAACP, Concerned Black Clergy, and other groups marched on Westmoreland's Coweta County office recently to protest his opposition to renewing the provisions. But once he sat down with them and explained what he was trying to do, "they said 'OK, you might be right,'" Westmoreland said.

Jenkins said she feels the Voting Rights Act is the standard and the nation should continue to abide by it.

"If we're going to be under the standard, we should have everybody under the standard," Westmoreland said.