"Greatest attack on the voting rights of Americans since the rise of Jim Crow"

[bigtree]

The rise and expansion of voter identification laws throughout the United States represents the greatest assault on voting rights in years and is the leading civil rights issue of this generation, says Benjamin Todd Jealous, the head of the NAACP.

“This represents the greatest attack on the voting rights of Americans since the rise of Jim Crow,” Jealous said in an interview with BET.com. “It’s hard to overstate the negative impact that these laws place on voting rights.

Jealous’ interview came just before he departed to attend a United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, where the NAACP will argue that the new voting laws in some U.S. states violate civil and human rights by suppressing the votes of minorities, the elderly and students.

"It was in 1947 that W.E.B. Du Bois delivered his speech and appealed to the world at the United Nations, Jealous said. "Now, like then, the principal concern is voting rights. The past year more states in this country have passed more laws pushing more voters out of the ballot box than any point since Jim Crow."

read more: http://www.bet.com/news/national/2012/03/12/voter-id-laws-are-the-civil-rights-issue-of-our-time-naacp-s-jealous-contends.html

related:

Justice Dept opposes a 2nd voter ID law, in Texas
http://www.kxnet.com/story/17136671/justice-dept-opposes-texas-voter-id-law

Texas' voter ID law heads to federal court
http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/03/12/3804561/texas-voter-id-law-heads-to-federal.html

NAACP Takes Voting Rights Fight to United Nations
http://www.bet.com/news/national/2012/03/09/naacp-takes-voting-rights-fight-to-united-nations-panel.html


Voting rights demonstration in McComb, Miss., in 1962. - from the Erle Johnston Papers, McCain Library and Archives

[babylonsister]

1. I think changing voting requirements should be illegal, and I'm

very disturbed that not more people are outraged about this.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. Has anyone checked to see what the documentation requirements are in European nations?

Be interesting to see what other western nations require at the polls.

[nofurylike]

3. Truth. thank you for posting that, bigtree. nt

[Blue_Tires]

4. yeah, it's clearly an indirect form of vote caging...