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My partner and I stand in the firmest negation of the Resolved: The Supreme Court rightly decided

that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act violated the Constitution.

Contention 1: Democracy is Good

Democracy is the most important principle of our country, one upon which our entire government is based upon. Our

continued success as a nation is based upon maintaining democracy within our country, and therefore our vote.

http://www.ipu.org/dem-e/idd/about-dem.htm

The word, democracy, comes from two Greek words: demos, which means "the people", and kratein, which means "to rule".This "rule by the people" was first practised in Greece in the sixth century BC and has been evolving as a system of government

ever since.Throughout history, democracies have flourished, been threatened or replaced by

authoritarian rule only to re-emerge in societies all over the world today.

The involvement of the people in the public affairs of their countries is more likely than any

other form of government to ensure basic freedoms and equality, meet the needs of everyoneand preserve or restore peace.

The ultimate goal of democracy is to preserve and promote the dignity and fundamental rightsof the individual, to achieve social justice, foster the economic and social development of the

community, strengthen the cohesion of society and build a propitious environment forinternational peace.Democracy, development and human rights are therefore interdependent.

In a democracy,human rightsare promoted and protected so that we all, no matter our race, gender,

personal belief or style of life, can participate in formulating the laws and policies to which we are

subject. These human rights include the right to express ourselves freely, to associate freely with others, and to choose ourrepresentatives in free and fair elections.

In a democracy, peopleplay an active role in political and civic life. We express our will through regular free and fairelections. Voting in a democracy must be universal, equal and secret so that each of us can choose our representatives freely.

Education and vibrant communications media are vital to be able to make an informed choice. But our role as active citizensdoes not end after we cast our ballots; we must be continually engaged in public affairs so that the government can be aware ofand respond to our needs.

In a democracy, where all citizens are respected as equals, womenhave as important a role to play as men.While women make up just over half of the world's population, fewer than one in five members of parliament around the world

are women. Societies are more equitable and democracy is stronger when women participate in all aspects of political life.

Thus, it is clear that the value of voting, the core principle of democracy, must be protected in order to preserve our

government.

Contention 2: SECTION FOUR PROTECTS DEMOCRACY

One of our biggest safeguards to protect the vote from voting discrimination comes in the form of section four of the Voting

Rights Act. Section four, in conjunction with section five, has protected against voting discrimination in several different

states. For instance,

Georgia would have continued to use a voter verification program to check the

citizenship status of every person seeking to register to vote. Because Georgia

failed to receive Section 5 preclearance before implementing the law, evidence

was obtained that made it clear that minority voters were being flagged at

higher rates, requiring time-consuming additional steps to be taken to prove

their citizenship. The Department of Justice denied preclearance for this law in

http://www.ipu.org/dem-e/idd/about-dem.htmhttp://www.ipu.org/dem-e/idd/about-dem.htmhttp://www.ipu.org/dem-e/idd/about-dem.htm

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