The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was an important piece of legislation that was enacted to outlaw discriminatory voting practices that some Southern states allowed after the end of the Reconstruction Era. These States wrote new legislation that were designed to deny Blacks the right to vote by using literacy test, poll taxes, grandfather clauses as well as violence and intimidation. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 established Federal oversight of the election administration in Southern states with a history of discriminating against blacks in the election process. Those Southern states could not make changes to the voting process without approval from the , a process known as preclearance.

The Fifteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution establishes the rights of citizens to vote, it reads:
“The right of citizens of the United States shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.�
With the enactment of the Voting Rights Act, Section 2 echoes the language of the 15th Amendment as it bans any “standard, practice, or procedure� that “results in the denial or abridgment of the right of any citizen…to vote on account of race or color.� 42 U. S. C. §1973(a).
In 1970, Congress reauthorized the Act for another five years, and extended the coverage formula in §4(b) to jurisdictions that had a voting test and less than 50 percent voter registration or turnout as of 1968. Congress also amended the definition of “test or device� to include the practice of providing English-only voting materials in places where over five percent of voting-age citizens spoke a single language other than English.

Section 4 and 5 of the Act were recently challenged in v. Holder, Attorney General, et al. and argued before the . Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act “freezes election practices or procedures in certain states until the new procedures have been subjected to review, either after an administrative review by the United States Attorney General, or after a lawsuit before the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.� This meant Southern states voting processes that historically discriminated against Black voters were analyzed in accordance with Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 4, used a “coverage formula� that identified these Southern states known as a “covered jurisdiction� and subjected them to preclearance by the United States Department of Justice prior to making any changes to its voting processes.

Further as the Hispanic population grew in some “covered jurisdictions� Section 5 was later amended to forbid “voting changes with any discriminatory purpose as well as voting changes that diminish the ability of citizens, on account of race, color, or language minority status, to elect their preferred candidates of choice.�

The petitioner, Shelby County in the “covered jurisdiction� State of Alabama, challenged the coverage formula and preclearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act by filing a writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. Shelby County argued that Sections 4 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act were no longer necessary as times have changed since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Act in 1965, besides Blacks are no longer blatantly barred from the election process.

The Court ruled in favor of Shelby County declaring Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional. This ruling allows the Southern states to make changes in their voting processes such as requiring valid government identification from voters, redistricting voting districts all without preclearance from the United States Department of Justice.

There are certain to be lawsuits challenging individual states voting processes especially those are deemed to be detrimental to African-American and Hispanic voters.

If your voting rights are being violated contact ¸£Àû¼§. in New York. We will review your claims thoroughly, providing you with an outline of possible actions you may wish to take. We are ready to be your voice for justice.

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Freedom of Association refers to the right to join others or become a member of an organization united for a legal common cause or purpose without interference. Although the right to associate is not an independent constitutional right it originates from and contingent on the First Amendment guarantees of free speech and expression.

One early case to recognize the freedom of association was in the , , 357 U.S. 449 (1958). In this case, the a non-profit membership corporation organized under the laws opened an office in the in violation of state statute that required a foreign corporation to “qualify before doing business in the State by filing its corporate charter and designating a place of business and an agent to receive service of process.�

The State brought an equity suit in state court alleging that the NAACP activities was causing “irreparable injury to the citizens of the State for which criminal prosecution and civil actions at law afforded no adequate relief� and sought to prohibit the NAACP from conducting activities and to have them ousted from the State. The court issued an ex parte order restraining the NAACP from engaging in further activities and forbid the organization from operating in the state. The NAACP moved to dissolve the restraining order contending that its activities did not subject it to the qualification requirements of the statute and what the State sought to accomplish by its suit would violate its rights to freedom of speech and assembly guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment. On the State’s motion, the court ordered the production of membership records along with other records of the organization and the NAACP eventually produced the requested records except for the membership list whereas they were found in contempt of court and fined $10,000. The denied certiorari to review the contempt judgment but was granted it by the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether or not Alabama’s requirement of the membership list violate the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that in disclosing the NAACP membership lists it would reveal the identity of the members and based on previous occasions these revelations would expose those members “to economic reprisal, loss of employment, threat of physical coercion, and other manifestations of public hostility� and if the NAACP were compelled to disclose its members list it would be an effective curtailing on members freedom of association as well as adversely affect the organization’s ability express their own views.

The Court further opined that the “freedom to engage in association for the advancement of beliefs and ideas is an inseparable aspect of the ‘liberty’ assured by the , which embraces freedom of speech.â€� As stated previously stated, freedom of association is not a right as enumerated in the but this landmark case firmly establishes that freedom of association is tied to freedom of speech.

If you believe that, your freedom to associate or were violated, contact ¸£Àû¼§. in New York at 1-800-371-4835. We will review your claim thoroughly, providing you with an outline of possible actions you may wish to take. We are ready to be your voice for justice.

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