Live Election Coverage..Round the Clock News, Videos, Links and more..

Contrary to Governor Sonny Purdue's assertion, Geogia still needs the Voting Rights Act to ensure that minorities and economically deprived people are not denied the right to vote.

Governor Purdue had argued that Barack Obama's showing in the 2008 elections in Georgia shows that racism is no longer an issue in the state. But the fact is, Obama still got less than John McCain in the last election (47% to 52%).

More pertinently, Georgia lawmakers in the current session worked on two bills that would make people registering to vote provide copies of their birth certificate, which would have meant a trip to the birth county or to the Georgia Secretary of State's office and the filling up of a lengthy form after a payment of $10 - something that would definitely be a hardship for poor people.

Thankfully, the bills have been reworked to set easier standards for registration. But Georgia still needs to be under someone's eye where voting rights are concerned.