WASHINGTON - July 27 - On July 20, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act (VRA) Reauthorization bill, which extends protections put into place in 1965 to protect African Americans from voting discrimination. However, legislators missed a chance this year to address widespread racial discrimination taking place today in the form of felony disenfranchisement.

The VRA was originally passed to end discriminatory "Jim Crow" voting registration practices by states and localities. However, the 1965 law did not completely solve the problem. States were able to maintain some of their Jim Crow laws, and even create new discriminatory laws in the form of felony disenfranchisement. Felony disenfranchisement laws either partially or completely suspend a person's right to vote if he or she has ever had a felony conviction.

Currently, 4.5 million Americans, and about 13 percent of all African American men, are denied the right to vote because of previous felony convictions. The war on drugs plays a significant role in creating these numbers--while African Americans make up only 13 percent of drug users, they account for 38 percent of those arrested for drug offenses and 59 percent of those convicted of drug offenses.

Congress had a chance to improve the situation with this year's VRA renewal. Last year, Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel of New York introduced H.R. 663, the Ex-Offenders Voting Rights Act, which would reinstate voting rights to any individual upon completion of his or her sentence. Drug Policy Alliance Network, the lobbying arm of DPA, advocated for this bill to be attached as an amendment to the VRA renewal. However, Congress failed to consider adding in the language out of fear that it might hinder full support of VRA renewal.

Only 16 states currently restore people's right to vote after completion of a prison sentence. Change clearly needs to be made at the federal level. With another 25 years until the next VRA renewal, Congress' inaction in 2006 is an inexcusable missed opportunity. 25 more years is too long to endure this systematic denial of basic constitutional liberties.

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