By Doug Cunningham

Democrats are resisting some changes that southern conservatives want to make in the Voting Rights Act. The conservatives want to end the Act’s Section 5 requirement that the Justice Department approve any changes in voting procedures. The NEA’s Reg Weaver says keeping that Justice Department clearance is important to prevent obstructions of voting like this example.

[Reg Weaver]: “If in fact there is an area that has a high concentration of African-American voters, you have twenty voting machines. And some people may not want to do the right thing and want to be evil. They would say OK, but we’re going to take care of that. Instead of 20 voting machines we’re going to put in four voting machines. Which means that it makes it more difficult to vote. That’s a violation of Section Five.”