[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14026]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRESS MUST PASS THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT

  (Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, let me just say, Mr. 
Speaker and Members of the House, if there is any question as to 
whether or not we still need the Voting Rights Act, remember the 
Florida 2000 election and the coup d'etat where 27,000 ballots were 
disregarded, simply thrown out right in my congressional district, 
precincts 7, 8, 9 and 10, that vote 98 percent Democratic. Yes, it is 
still clear that the Voting Rights Act today is needed just as much as 
it was 40 years ago.
  Another reason: When I was elected to Congress in 1992, it had been 
129 years since an African American was elected in Florida to the 
United States Congress. Let me repeat, 129 years. If it was not for the 
Voting Rights Act, the State of Florida would still likely be without 
an African American Representative.
  We still have a ways to go, and Congress must pass the Voting Rights 
Act, and not some watered-down version of it, to guarantee that 
millions of minorities' votes around the Nation and 3 million 
minorities in the State of Florida will have their voices heard and 
have their votes counted.
  Remember the coup d'etat 2000 election.

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