The Voting Rights Act: A 40th Anniversary Commemoration

Symposium on Reauthorizing Expiring Provisions of the Voting Rights Act

Friday, February 18, 2005
1-5 pm
Columbia Law School
Jerome Green Hall, Room 106
435 W. 116th Street; New York, NY

Congress passed the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in 1965. This year, 2005, marks its 40th Anniversary. During its 40 years, the VRA has been hailed as the most successful piece of civil rights legislation ever. One of the aspects of the VRA that had made it particularly successful is the federal oversight of changes to election procedures in jurisdictions that had a poor record of respecting minority voting rights in the past. These "special provisions" are set to expire in 2007. Therefore, the VRA's 40th anniversary provides an opportune occasion to assess the accomplishments of the VRA while critically assessing the value and the limitations of the special provisions.

Please mark your calendars to hear advocates from NAACP-LDF, PRLDEF, the Community Service Society, and AALDEF, and our own Professor Issacharoff discuss the successes of the Voting Rights Act. They will also critically discuss whether the expiring provisions should be reauthorized, and with what, if any, changes.

Co-Sponsors:
Columbia University Office of the University Chaplain
Columbia Law School Student Senate
APALSA, BLSA, NALSA, LaLSA, SALSA
American Constitution Society, Civil Rights Law Society, and Impact