Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 96 Part 1.djvu/176

 96 STAT. 134

42 USC

1973aa-la. 42 USC 1973.

42 USC 1973b.

42 USC 1973aa-la.

42 USC 1973aa-la note.

PUBLIC LAW 97-205—JUNE 29, 1982 case of Alaskan Natives and American Indians, if the predominate language is historically unwritten". (d) Section 203(c) of such Act is amended by inserting after "Natives" in the proviso the following: "and American Indians". SEC. 3. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 2. (a) No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color, or in contravention of the guarantees set forth in section 4(f)(2), as provided in subsection (b). "(b) A violation of subsection (a) is established if, based on the totality of circumstances, it is shown that the political processes leading to nomination or election in the State or political subdivision are not equally open to participation by members of a class of citizens protected by subsection (a) in that its members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice. The extent to which members of a protected class have been elected to office in the State or political subdivision is one circumstance which may be considered: Provided, That nothing in this section establishes a right to have members of a protected class elected in numbers equal to their proportion in the population.". SEC. 4. Section 203(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is amended by striking out "August 6, 1985" and inserting in lieu thereof "August 6, 1992", and the extension made by this section shall apply only to determinations made by the Director of the Census under clause (i) of section 203(b) for members of a single language minority who do not speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process when such a determination can be made by the Director of the Census based on the 1980 and subsequent census data. SEC. 5. Effective January 1, 1984, title II of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is amended by adding at the end the following section:

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