UUA Applauds Voting Rights Act Renewal

Statement by the Rev. William G. Sinkford on the Reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act

Arlington Street Church Holds Voting Rights Forum

On Sunday, June 11, 2006, the Social Action Committee of Arlington Street Church in Boston  co-sponsored a gathering on voting rights with Massachusetts Citizens for Voting Integrity. The event sponsors issued invitations to candidates for the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth (known as Secretary of State in most states) so that they could share their opinions on voting rights and current issues facing today's voters. The event was moderated by Heleni Thayre, Chair of Unitarian Universalists for Verified Voting  and Chair of Voting Integrity, Arlington St. Church Boston. Topics included reports on disenfranchisement of voters in Massachusetts, particularly among communities of color and immigrants; information on the national Voting Rights Act and the need for renewal; and how redistricting has affected various groups. A proposal to audit voting machines in Massachusetts was also reviewed, as well as proposed legislation to require paper ballots in law. Speakers from the following groups and additional sponsors included Common Cause, the Disability Policy Consortium, Hyde Square Task Force, Massachusetts Citizens for Voting Integrity, Mass Vote, Mass Voters for Fair Elections, and the Union of Minority Neighborhoods. Speakers urged participants to advocate for the national voting rights renewal and to stay vigilant about voting rights in MA from the training of poll workers to youth participation in monitoring elections to ensuring access for people with disabilities. Both candidates for Secretary of the Commonwealth, Jill Stein of the Green Party (a physician and founder of the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities) and John Bonifaz (founder of the National Voting Rights Institute), pledged to speak out in support of renewal of the Voting Rights Act on the federal level to protect historically disenfranchised communities. Event organizer Heleni Thayre said of the program, “This forum helped give us momentum to cross-pollinate and build cooperation between the many local groups working toward fair elections.”

(July 21, 2006) The United States Senate acted yesterday to renew the Voting Rights Act of 1965. By a unanimous vote of 98-0, the Senate extended key provisions of the VRA, which was created to protect minority voting rights, and which has been called one of the most effective pieces of civil rights legislation in history. An identical version of the bill has already been approved by the House, and President Bush supported the legislation, so the Senate's vote marked the final hurdle. Reacting to the decision, UUA President William G. Sinkford wrote:

"As we rejoice in this victory for democracy, let us also take a moment to honor the courage and sacrifice of those who first fought for the passage of the Voting Rights Act forty years ago."

Unitarian Universalists have a unique historical connection to the Voting Rights Act. Many Unitarians and Universalists fought to advance the cause, including Viola Liuzzo and the Rev. James Reeb, who were killed while working for civil rights in Selma, Alabama, just a few months before the passage of the 1965 Act. In 2005, Rev. Sinkford was presented with New Democracy's James Reeb New Democracy Service Award in a Massachusetts ceremony.

Last year, two UU congregations joined an Atlanta voting rights march commemorating the signing of the original Voting Rights Act. On Sunday, June 11, 2006, the Social Action Committee of Arlington Street Church in Boston co-sponsored a gathering on voting rights with Massachusetts Citizens for Voting Integrity. Topics included reports on the disenfranchisement of voters in Massachusetts, particularly among communities of color and immigrants, information on the national Voting Rights Act and the need for its renewal, and an examination of how redistricting has affected various groups.

As work on the VRA concluded yesterday, the UUA's Washington Office for Advocacy sent a letter to Congress urging passage of the District of Columbia Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act  (the "DC VRA") which would—for the first time ever—grant the District of Columbia a representative in Congress with full voting rights.

That letter stated , in part, "It is particularly appalling that thousands of Congressional employees—people who are serving their country as public servants—must choose between having voting representation in Congress or living in the District of Columbia. Nor is it ethical to disenfranchise the hundreds of thousands of DC residents who, in addition to deserving representation simply as US citizens, are particularly deserving because it is their lives and work that make it possible for Congress to function here.

"Two of the fundamental principles of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations are respect for the worth and dignity of every person and the use of the democratic process. By denying one of the most basic elements of democratic governance, Congress devalues the worth and dignity of all DC residents. The lack of DC voting representation in Congress is unfair, unethical, and wrong."

You can act in support of voting rights!

• Action Alert from the UUA Washington Office for Advocacy:
  The UUA encourages Unitarian Universalists to help support the DC Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act (the "DC VRA"). The UUA General Assembly endorsed full DC voting rights in 1970. DC residents—including the staff of the Washington Office—need you to advocate on our behalf if this legislation is to go forward. We encourage you to read the article by Marion Patten , a DC Voting Rights Activist from River Road Unitarian Church, and take action.

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