In a July 28 article reporting that a provision in the renewed Voting Rights Act “requiring some counties to offer election procedures for people who speak American Indian languages” would apply to La Plata and Montezuma counties, The Gazette of Colorado Springs once again made no mention of votes cast by Colorado Republican members of Congress, including Rep. Joel Hefley, who represents Colorado Springs. Hefley voted for an amendment that would have eliminated the non-English voting provision and ultimately voted against reauthorizing the act.

The Voting Rights Act, originally passed in 1965, outlawed racially discriminatory state voting laws. The act also banned specific practices such as the use of literacy tests for voting, contained enforcement provisions to prevent the use of poll taxes, and required areas of the country with a history of discriminatory voting practices to obtain "preclearance" from the Justice Department before altering their election laws. The act was subsequently amended to require non-English ballots or language assistance in areas with sizable minorities of non-English speakers.

The Gazette article, by staff reporter Perry Swanson, reported that “some provisions of the Voting Rights Act were scheduled to expire next year, including a rule requiring some counties to offer election procedures for people who speak American Indian languages.” The Gazette further reported: “The rule applied to La Plata and Montezuma counties in southwestern Colorado, which have large American Indian populations.” Yet, for a second time, the Gazette failed to note that Hefley and all other Colorado Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted for a failed amendment that would have stripped the non-English language requirements from the reauthorization bill.

As Colorado Media Matters previously noted, Reps. Hefley, Marilyn Musgrave (R-Fort Morgan), Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton), and Bob Beauprez (R-Arvada) all voted in favor of King's amendment. Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Denver), Mark Udall (D-Eldorado Springs), and John Salazar (D-Manassa) voted against King's amendment. In a July 13 statement on the House floor, House Judiciary Committee chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (WI), the Republican sponsor of the VRA reauthorization bill, said, "[T]his is a poison pill amendment. If this amendment is adopted, the supporters of this legislation will withdraw their support, and the extension to the Voting Rights Act would be defeated. So from a practical standpoint, the amendment should be opposed; but on a substantive standpoint, it should be opposed as well."

Further, on July 13, the House voted 390-33 to reauthorize the act. Hefley and Tancredo were among the 33 who voted against reauthorization. A version of an Associated Press article printed in The Gazette did not inform readers that both Hefley and Tancredo voted against the reauthorization of VRA, while The Denver Post -- which also printed the AP article -- inserted the fact that “Republican Reps. Joel Hefley of Colorado Springs and Tom Tancredo of Littleton were among the 33 lawmakers voting no.” A July 14 Rocky Mountain News article similarly reported that Hefley and Tancredo “were among only 33 lawmakers who voted against reauthorization of the landmark Voting Rights Act.”

From the July 28 Gazette article:

Voters in two Colorado counties are assured the right to cast ballots in their native languages after President Bush signed a 25-year renewal of the Voting Rights Act on Thursday.

Originally passed in 1965, some provisions of the Voting Rights Act were scheduled to expire next year, including a rule requiring some counties to offer election procedures for people who speak American Indian languages. The rule applied to La Plata and Montezuma counties in southwestern Colorado, which have large American Indian populations.

Election officials in La Plata and Montezuma counties said they have interpreters for people who speak American Indian languages, but no one has ever requested help.

“The majority of the tribal members read English, and they don't request it,” said La Plata County Clerk and Recorder Linda Daley.

[...]

Like Daley, Montezuma County Clerk and Recorder Carol Tullis said she would accommodate people who speak American Indian languages even if the law didn't require it.

The Voting Rights Act was a key victory for civil rights activists. It bans laws designed to keep minorities from voting such as requiring reading tests, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which enforces the law. Advocacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union had lobbied for the act's expiring provisions to be renewed.