August 6 marked the 51st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is hailed as one of the cornerstones of Civil Rights legislation, despite being gutted in 2013. Many sections of the Voting Rights Act still remain in place today, and have been making headlines with their connection to several recent court cases regarding restrictive voter ID laws.

A Brief History

The Voting Rights Act was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon B. Johnson, to push back against legal barriers preventing black Americans from exercising their right to vote. In 1870, the 15th Amendment was ratified, stating that "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude." But the passage of the 15th Amendment was not enough to franchise people of color in the US. Widespread discrimination and violence continued to occur against black Americans, and that still occurs today, not only against black Americans, but against people of color generally, albeit, in a somewhat different form (sort of). Black Americans were still barred from exercising their right to vote through literacy tests, poll taxes, intimidation, violence, and other efforts to keep them away from the polls. The denial of basic human rights of black Americans was at the forefront of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Activists were beaten and killed as they tried to register black Americans to vote throughout "Freedom Summer" in 1964. March 7, 1965, came to be known as "Bloody Sunday" after marchers were attached by troopers. During the March on Selma in March of 1965, civil rights activists were met with violence and hostility as they fought for their basic human rights, including their right to cast a vote. Days later, President Johnson announced a measure aiming to push back against the legal barriers disenfranchising black Americans: the Voting Rights Act. Over the years, the Voting Rights Act has been amended and expanded to protect the right to vote among other marginalized identity groups.

Even in 2016, folks are still being disenfranchised.

Voter disenfranchisement didn't end with the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Though literacy tests and poll taxes appear to be a thing of the past, voter ID laws and criminal records prevent millions of Americans from voting. In 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States, in a five-t-four vote, effectively invalidated a key section of the voting rights act. Section 4 of the voting rights act has various subsections that essentially determined which states were subject to the federal preclearance conditions set by Section 5. Without key aspects of section 4, states who had initially been subject to federal preclearance of their voting laws due to their history of racial discrimination were free to enact laws that could disenfranchise black Americans once again. These laws have taken the form of stringent voter ID laws and felon disenfranchisement laws. However, over the past several weeks, courts have begun to strike down some of these harsh, discriminatory laws on the basis that they disenfranchise poor voters and voters of color. In Texas, a federal court found that the voter ID law had discriminatory impacts on voters and remanded the case to lower courts to work with Texas to fix the voter ID law before the general election. The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned North Carolina's voter ID law, finding that it was passed with discriminatory intent, placing several restrictions on voting that disproportionately impact black Americans. Parts of Wisconsin's voter ID law were struck down, as a US district judge overturned several parts of the law including: limits on early voting, a 28-day residency requirement, a prohibition on expired student IDs, and a ban preventing the emailing of absentee ballots. In Kansas, a judge ruled citizens will be able to vote despite not showing proof of citizenship when they initially registered to vote. North Dakota's photo ID requirement was found to disproportionately impact Native American's right to vote. Court cases surrounding voter disenfranchisement are being expedited through the courts to have rulings made in time for the general election in November.

Voting and The 2016 Election

The 2016 Elections are already shaping up to be intense. With Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump serving as the major party presidential nominees, this election has important outcomes for folks in this nation, and throughout the rest of the world. Here at home, we're voting for the leader of our nation, the figurehead for the US, and for who will choose the next Supreme Court justices, among other things. People abroad are fearful for the foreign policy impacts that voting in a particular candidate could have on their nations and their wellbeing, as they should. Voting is as important as ever, if not more important for this election cycle, as our nation's people and the people of the world are essentially fighting for their lives. And sadly, I'm not really exaggerating there. Besides this competitive race, there are also many congressional seats up for election, various state and local races and ballot measures. In Colorado, besides our US House and Senate races, we have local House and Senate and judicial races going on, as well as several possible ballot measures, such state constitutional amendments like a new healthcare system called Colorado Cares (Amendment 69), changing our state constitution's wording to prohibit all forms of slavery (Amendment T), and an exemption to property taxes (Amendment U), and various initiatives ranging from taxes, to the environment, to elections and campaigns, to minimum wage, to assisted death, to alcohol. Even if you're not all that excited about the presidential election, there are so many other races and initiatives to rally around or rally against that your vote matters. Local elections arguably impact your daily life more than the presidential election, so don't skip out on the other things on your ballot just because you don't like Clinton or Trump. If you really can't vote for any of the several presidential candidates, always remember you can leave the race blank, and vote the rest of your ballot. That goes for any race.

What does voting mean to you? Post in the comments below.