Bush signs renewal of landmark U.S. voting rights law

President George W. Bush, surrounded by dozens of civil rights leaders, signed into law a 25-year renewal of the Voting Rights Act, which protects the access of minorities to the ballot box.

"My administration will vigorously enforce the provisions of this law and we will defend it in court," Bush said at a signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. About 600 invited guests, including Martin Luther King III, Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond, Benjamin Hooks and members of Congress, attended the event.

The renewal—a year before several provisions of the 1965 law expire—fits within a Republican strategy to expand the party's appeal among minority voters—historically a Democratic constituency—as the party tries to maintain control of Congress in the November elections.

The Senate approved the legislation 98-0 on July 20, and the House approved it earlier this month, 390-33.

The renewed law "is a real chance for this administration to begin to truly enforce all of the provisions of the Voting Rights Act," Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers' Committee on Civil Rights, said in a written statement.

"The Department of Justice and the judiciary must continue to block measures that would dilute minority strength, including voter ID laws, redistricting aimed at weakening the impact of minority voters, and other harmful measures," Caroline Fredrickson, legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.

Bush last week spoke to the oldest U.S. civil rights organization, seeking to bury decades of mistrust and disagreement between his political party and black voters.

'A Tragedy'

"I consider it a tragedy that the party of Abraham Lincoln let go of its historic ties with the African-American community," Bush told the national convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "I want to change the relationship." Bush hadn't spoken to the group the last five years because of criticism from its leaders.

U.S. Representative Melvin Watt, Democrat from North Carolina, told reporters after the signing that he was encouraged by Bush's appearance before the NAACP last week and the signing of the voting-rights law today.

"We can be more hopeful than we have been the last six years," Watts said.

Enforcement