Protecting Voting Rights A Challenge for Social Workers?

This month marks the 50^th anniversary of Public Law 89-110—“An Act to enforce the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, and for other purposes”—commonly known as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  The VRA passed the Senate on May 26, 1965 with a vote of 77-19 and the House on July 9, 1965 with a vote of 333-85.  The bill was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965 and significantly changed how black Americans experienced living in the United States.  Two-fifths of their humanity had been restored and they now had full rights to citizenship that so many had been denied—at least according to the new law.  Even the law could not prevent state and local governments from seeking new methods to restrict the voting rights of black Americans.  Efforts to restrict voting continue until this day.  A federal judge ruled yesterday that a strict voter identification law in Texas unduly inhibits voting for Latinos and blacks and violates the Voting Rights Act.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, since the beginning of 2015, various state legislatures have introduced 113 bills that would restrict voting.  Nearly half of the bills would institute or tighten voter identification requirements.  Almost all of these bills were introduced by a Republican-only sponsor.  Progressives are fighting back as legislators have introduced 464 bills that would enhance voters’ opportunities, including Oregon’s landmark law passed in March that automatically registers residents with a driver’s license (unless the individual opts out).  That bill triggered 14 states to follow suit.  Three states—Florida, New Mexico, and Oklahoma—have passed legislation permitting online registration.

Proponents of less-restrictive voting are still reeling from the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling in Shelby County v Holder that invalidated Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act that required states with egregious histories of voter suppression to get pre-clearance before enacting new voter regulations.  Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the 5-4 majority argued that the country had changed over time and the formula used to evaluate states in Section 4 of the VRA was unconstitutional.  Proponents of the VRA argued that things had gotten better because the law was working.  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg likened the ruling to throwing away your umbrella in the rain because you had not gotten wet.  Bi-partisan efforts in Congress to fix Section 4 failed and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA-5) and several Democratic colleagues moved to fix the VRA by introducing H.R. 2867—the Voting Rights Advancement Act in the 114^th Congress.  Unfortunately, with 90 Democratic and zero Republican co-sponsors, the bill has little chance in the Republican-controlled Congress.

Maryland, generally considered a highly progressive state, has its own problems with voting rights.  Republican Governor Larry Hogan vetoed legislation overwhelming passed by both houses of the legislature that would restore voting rights to 40,000 individuals with felony convictions.  There is a good chance the legislature will override the governor’s veto.  Felony voter disenfranchisement is a significant problem nationally.  According to the Sentencing Project, 5.85 million Americans are denied voting rights because of criminal histories.  Black Americans pay a severe political penalty for their disproportionate involvement with the criminal justice system as one in 13 is ineligible to vote.

What does all this mean for social workers?  Should the profession give the issue of voting rights considerable attention?  Can we provide leadership in seeking remedies?  I do not see how a profession mandated to pursue social justice can do anything less than mount a substantial effort to assistant Americans being denied unrestricted access to the voting booth whether because of the color of their skin, their political views, or their lack of sufficient resources.  However, getting involved in politics may be unfamiliar territory for social workers.  According to a 2010 study by Sunny Harris Rome and Susan Hoechstetter, while nearly two-thirds of the 1274 respondents in their survey acknowledged social workers had an obligation to “promote policies that benefit their clients” and 93.4 percent agreed “voting is an important tool for influencing social policy”, just 7.8 percent reported participating in political rallies and marches and even less (3.4 percent) reported helping to organize political rallies or marches.

Social workers are trained to be skillful and knowledgeable about creating coalitions, empowering people and communities, and communicating with different audiences—all necessary to mount a successful movement to increase the number of people registering for and participating in the voting process.  The looming elections in 2016 present a challenge and an opportunity for social workers to be significant agents in changing the fortunes of the poor and middle class.  Helping to lead a massive voter registration drive would be a fitting tribute to the legacies of social work pioneers Dr. Dorothy I. Height and former NASW president Whitney M. Young, Jr. and would bring a great deal of satisfaction to another former NASW president Nancy A. Humphreys who has pushed this agenda for decades.

Written By Charles E. Lewis Jr., Ph.D

Protecting Voting Rights A Challenge for Social Workers? was originally published @ Congressional Research Institute for Social Work and Policy » Charles Lewis and has been syndicated with permission.