By Fred Guarino

The Lowndes Signal

The Lowndes County Commission has authorized Commission Chairman Robert Harris to signoff on a resolution declaring “it’s strong support for making Aug. 6 National Voting Rights Day.”

Commission Administrator Jackie Thomas said the commission would formally adopt the resolution at its regular meeting on Aug. 12.

According to the resolution, “The 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) is the most effective Civil Rights legislation ever enacted by the United States Congress.”

President Lyndon Johnson signed it in a special ceremony at the White House on Aug. 6, 1965. The resolution states “Voting rights are under great attack in various state legislature(s) across the country.”

Also, “The U.S. Supreme Court has gutted the Voting Rights Act by deactivating Section 5, the very heart of the Act.” The resolution states, “Whereas, the nation must recommit to the spirit of expanding voting rights as originally embodied in the VRA… Now therefore, the Lowndes County Commission hereby declares Aug. 6th as National Voting Rights Day in 2013 in Lowndes County in succeeding years.”

Harris signed off on the resolution on behalf of the commission on July 26, which was confirmed by Commission Vice Chairman W. Dickson Farrior.

Harris said, “The importance of it is trying to shown unity that people are being targeted for voting and trying to be discouraged from voting. And by discouraging people from voting is kind of setting us back the 50 years that we’ve come forward on.” Harris said there was not enough case to show a lot of voter fraud has taken place. But he said instead of fraud, “It was more discriminatory stuff that took place for that Act to be in place.”