Key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act are set to expire soon, but staunch supporters warned Tuesday that a permanent extension could reverse many of the law's gains for minorities.
Some lawmakers may try to make permanent certain provisions that expire in 2007 in an attempt to torpedo the act, said Theodore Shaw, director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Legal Defense Fund. Although Shaw acknowledged a permanent or nationwide approach may seem wise, he called it a "Trojan horse."
"If they are permanent, it is a trap," Shaw said. "They will be struck down as illegal and unconstitutional."
One part of the act set to expire is the provision that states with a history of racial discrimination - mostly in the South - must get federal government approval before changing their voting laws or district lines. Shaw said judges might decide Congress can't separate jurisdictions based on race issues without an occasional review of whether that separation remains necessary.
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