are blacks about to lose their right to vote?

El_Kabong · July 2006

not sure if it will happen but it's odd that it's only a year away and has received no press or coverage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act#Periodic_renewal

The Voting Rights Act has been renewed four times and remains in force. It was renewed in 1970, 1975, and 2006. In 1982, Congress amended and renewed the Act, making some sections (perhaps most importantly section 2) permanent while renewing the remainder (perhaps most importantly section 5) for 25 years (July 1, 2007). As of 2006, however, a number of Republican lawmakers have acted to delay renewal of the Act. One group of lawmakers led by Georgia congressman Lynn Westmoreland, come from some pre-clearance states, and claim that it is no longer fair to target their states given the passage of time since 1967. It has, however, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Another group supports an amendment offered by Steve King of Iowa, seeking to strip provisions from the Act that require that translators or multilingual ballots be provided for U.S. citizens who do not speak English.[2]

No affirmative right to vote
U.S. citizens commonly hear of a "right to vote," yet there is no such federal right. However, the Voting Rights Act and three constitutional amendments that prevent discrimination in granting the franchise have established in United States Supreme Court jurisprudence that there is a "fundamental right" in the franchise, even though voting remains a state-granted privilege.[8] U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr., re-introduced House Joint Resolution 28 in March of 2005 to amend the U.S. Constitution and create a federal right to vote.[9] The resolution had 58 co-sponsors as of April, 2005.[10]

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/voting/sec_5/about.htm

Introduction to Section 5
Although the voting protections of the Fifteenth Amendment and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act are permanent, Section 5 remains in effect through 2007.

http://www.fairvote.org/vra/vra.htm

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act requires certain areas of the country to obtain ìpreclearanceî from the US Attorney General or the US District Court for the District of Columbia for any changes with reference to voting. These areas are known as covered jurisdictions. Thus, any covered jurisdiction must be given approval before any new electoral practices can be administered. This is necessary due to the purpose or intent of some areas to dilute, or weaken the strength of minority voters by changing electoral practices that give minorities an unfair chance to elect someone of choice. For example, a change from district/ward elections to an at-large election could be the intent of the governing body to make it difficult for minorities to get elected. This also includes, but is not limited to: a change to or from a proportional electoral system, change in the number of candidates to be elected, change in redistricting plan, etc. Additionally, Section 5 considers the effect of a proposed change. Will the proposed change lead to retrogression, a worsening of the position of minority voters? For instance, a proposed plan may effectively decrease the number of minority elected officials as well as decrease the voting strength of the minority group. All areas in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia and parts of California, Florida, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, and South Dakota are subject to Section 5 preclearance.