Houston, TX - July 3, 2006 - National Urban League President Marc H. Morial will join U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund President Theodore Shaw and Black Leadership Forum Chairman Joseph Leonard in urging the U.S. Congress to schedule an immediate vote on the Voting Rights Act reauthorization.

Civil rights leaders also announced plans to hold a candlelight vigil at the U.S. Capitol until the legislation is passed.

Originally enacted in 1965, the Voting Rights Act has enfranchised millions of African American citizens by eliminating discriminatory practices, such as literacy tests, poll taxes and other means, to discourage political participation.

Last week, the bill to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act was taken off the House calendar the morning of a scheduled vote after a small group of southern lawmakers voiced objections to key provisions. The Voting Rights Act will renew provisions of the 1965 historic act that are set to expire in 2007.

"There is no justification for any further delays in passing this bipartisan legislation," said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League. "The excuses given for stalling this bill are just that - excuses. And, they're the same worn-out, discredited excuses that civil rights opponents have always used to try to stop progress."

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said she expressed hope that Republicans would quickly resolve their differences and clear the way for speedy congressional approval of the legislation.

"It is critical that we do so as soon as possible, because our democracy depends on protecting the right of every American citizen to vote," she added.

NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund President Ted Shaw described the House leadership's delay as a "step backward" that, if not remedied, will "rip a hole in the protection" provided by the Voting Rights Act.

Three of the act's key provisions will expire in September of 2007, if the legislation is not acted upon. Section 5 prevents voting practices with a discriminatory purpose or effect from being implemented. Section 203 requires certain jurisdictions to provide language assistance to voters in areas with high concentrations of citizens who are limited-English proficient and illiterate. And Sections 6-9 authorize the federal government to use observers in elections to monitor voting rights act compliance.

During the past year, a series of important hearings demonstrated that, while progress has been made under the Voting Rights Act, much work remains to be done. The hearings, which included the testimony of Morial, showed that significant discrimination in voting is still pervasive in jurisdictions covered by the expiring provisions of the act.

"In light of the last two presidential elections, the protections afforded by the Voting Rights Act are as critical to now as they were in the 1960s. Our nation cannot afford to allow a few dissenting voices to undermine and reverse years of hard-fought gains," Black Leadership Forum Chairman Joseph Leonard said.

Morial said the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision on the Texas redistricting case "reaffirmed the validity, viability and necessity" of the act. The court ruled that the state plan to redraw lines of Texas' 23rd District violated the law by denying Hispanics the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choosing.

"The court's decision leaves no doubt that we have unfinished business when it comes to securing the right to vote for our nation's minorities. We call upon Congress to stand up to this small minority of anti-civil rights obstructionists and get the Voting Rights Act back on track by passing this reauthorization, without amendment, before the August recess," he added.

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