Editorial

A new statewide Civitas Decision Maker Poll shows that 82 percent of North Carolina voters support an extension of the Voting Rights Act to protect the civil rights of citizens. But in a stunning reversal, support shrinks to 34 percent when voters are asked if they support the Voting Rights Act if it includes a provision requiring states like North Carolina to provide registration forms, ballots and voting instructions in a foreign language (the legislation refers to this as “bilingual voting assistance.”)

Jack Hawke, President of the Civitas Institute, commented on the reaction of voters to the recent vote in Congress to extend the Voting Rights Act: “The voters strongly support protecting the rights of citizens to vote, however, they also believe that English should be the official language in our country. The voters understand that the ability to speak and read English is required in order to become a citizen. The right to vote in a representative form of government includes the responsibility to study the issues and the public policy positions of those who are being chosen to represent us.”

The non-partisan Civitas DecisionMaker Poll found overwhelming support for the Voting Rights Act across racial, partisan and all age groups. The same across the board opposition is recorded against the foreign language section of the Act. Among voters, the strongest support for the Voting Rights Act is among African-American voters at 95 percent. African-American voters also have the biggest shift in support when the foreign language section is added with support falling to 32 percent. The second largest movement is among Republican voters from 78 percent support to 22 percent when it includes foreign language ballots.

The 1965 passage of the Voting Rights Act was the signature legislation in the civil rights movement. Every member of the North Carolina delegation originally opposed it. In 1975, Section 208 was added to the Act, which requires registration forms, voting instructions and ballots in a foreign language when the population of a district or state reaches a certain percent population in that nationality.

Hawke continued, “While the Justice Department does not list North Carolina as meeting the Voting Rights Act requirement to provide ballots in Spanish, the Board of Elections has ruled the state is covered. Without proof of citizenship to register, and the state providing registration in Spanish is opening the door for fraud.”

The poll was conducted July 13-16 with 800 people who had voted in the 2002 and 2004 general elections. It has a margin of error of 3.7 percent, and was conducted by TelOpinion Research of Alexandria, Va.