Statement by AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) today expressed its disappointment with the announcement by the House Republican leadership to cancel a vote this week on reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act (H.R. 9, the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006).

AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung said: “We are disappointed that the bill to renew key provisions of the Voting Rights Act was not brought to a vote in the House yesterday. This civil rights legislation has been instrumental in removing barriers to voting for Asian Americans and other racial and language minorities. Every American citizen must be able to exercise the fundamental right to vote, and we call on all House members to demonstrate their commitment to equality by supporting immediate renewal of the Voting Rights Act.”

AALDEF, a 32-year-old New York-based civil rights organization, has monitored elections since 1988 to document incidents of anti-Asian discrimination and has conducted the nations largest multilingual exit polls of Asian American voters. AALDEF testified in support of renewing the minority language provisions of the Voting Rights Act before the House Judiciary Committee on Election Day in 2005, and earlier this month before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

AALDEF presented key evidence for the expansion of voter language assistance in 1992, and formally submitted a new comprehensive report on Asian Americans and the Voting Rights Act to Congressional leaders on June 13, 2006.

For a copy of AALDEFs Voting Rights Act report, click here.