Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said the federal government should play little to no role in protecting against racial discrimination in voting.
Speaking at the State Historical Museum in Des Moines on Thursday morning, Bush said he doesn't support reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In responding to a question from the audience, the former Florida governor said those stipulations regulate states "as though we are living in 1960."
"There's been dramatic improvement in access to voting, exponentially better improvement," Bush said. "And I don't think there's a role for the federal government to play in most places — there could be some — but in most places where they did have a constructive role in the '60s. So I don't support reauthorizing it as it."
The Voting Rights Act ushered in broad national voting protections for racial minorities as well as rules for specific jurisdictions, mostly in the South. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down major provisions of the act and congressional efforts to fix the law have stalled.
Bush, speaking at the Iowa Caucus Consortium candidate series, spent much of his time addressing both his gubernatorial record in reforming education and his education plan for the nation.
"I'm not gonna go crazy on you, but I'm pretty passionate about this," he said. Bush said he wants to empower states to make decisions and innovate their education systems. That goes for the whole educational gamut from early childhood programs to colleges and universities. He said he wants to reverse the federal government's "top-down" approach.
"I think the federal government needs to just, you know, chill out a little bit in terms of their rules and how they do it," he said.
Katie Rock, a 31-year-old homemaker from Des Moines, said she views Bush as the most sensible candidate in the Republican field. She's leaning toward voting for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, but is not committed yet.
"He has executive experience as governor. You can really take a look at his record," Rock said. "It's more moderate."
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...-need-reauthorize-voting-rights-act/73539930/
Speaking at the State Historical Museum in Des Moines on Thursday morning, Bush said he doesn't support reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In responding to a question from the audience, the former Florida governor said those stipulations regulate states "as though we are living in 1960."
"There's been dramatic improvement in access to voting, exponentially better improvement," Bush said. "And I don't think there's a role for the federal government to play in most places — there could be some — but in most places where they did have a constructive role in the '60s. So I don't support reauthorizing it as it."
The Voting Rights Act ushered in broad national voting protections for racial minorities as well as rules for specific jurisdictions, mostly in the South. In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down major provisions of the act and congressional efforts to fix the law have stalled.
Bush, speaking at the Iowa Caucus Consortium candidate series, spent much of his time addressing both his gubernatorial record in reforming education and his education plan for the nation.
"I'm not gonna go crazy on you, but I'm pretty passionate about this," he said. Bush said he wants to empower states to make decisions and innovate their education systems. That goes for the whole educational gamut from early childhood programs to colleges and universities. He said he wants to reverse the federal government's "top-down" approach.
"I think the federal government needs to just, you know, chill out a little bit in terms of their rules and how they do it," he said.
Katie Rock, a 31-year-old homemaker from Des Moines, said she views Bush as the most sensible candidate in the Republican field. She's leaning toward voting for Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, but is not committed yet.
"He has executive experience as governor. You can really take a look at his record," Rock said. "It's more moderate."
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/st...-need-reauthorize-voting-rights-act/73539930/
