voting rights act

March 19, 2015 - It was 50 years ago this week that President Johnson delivered an address to Congress calling for passage of the Voting Rights Act. The speech is regarded as the best of his administration -- and one of the finest pieces of presidential oratory in history.

March 6, 2015 - The 1965 Selma march being commemorated this weekend in Alabama helped speed passage of the Voting Rights Act -- but the landmark law is now in its most precarious position in a half-century.

January 16, 2015 - Next week the U.S. celebrates the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It also marks the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that ended campaign spending limits -- and the two occasions are more closely linked than many realize.

December 5, 2014 - Duke University researchers have published a study that uses math to show just how wildly North Carolina's congressional districts misrepresent the will of voters. The findings comes amid a growing push for nonpartisan redistricting reform to end gerrymandering.

November 7, 2014 - A national hotline for voting problems reported that call volume was up significantly during this election, the first in 50 years held without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. In several Southern states, the number of voters affected by new voting restrictions exceeded the margin of victory in close races for U.S. Senate and governor.

October 29, 2014 - Across the South, state laws and local election boards are creating new barriers for young people to vote -- and youth of color are disproportionately affected.

October 17, 2014 - The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide whether a strict voter ID law that opponents say is racially discriminatory will be enforced during this year's election in Texas.