By Mary Otto
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 16, 2006; A02

At least 1,000 NAACP members attending the organization's convention will go to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to push the Senate to reauthorize expiring portions of the Voting Rights Act, the group's leaders said yesterday.

"We'll be showing up in numbers," said NAACP President Bruce S. Gordon. "The NAACP is paying close attention."

Gordon spoke as delegates gathered for the group's 97th annual convention, a six-day meeting at the Washington Convention Center that will include panel discussions and workshops on topics such as AIDS, voter empowerment, educational and economic disparities and lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina.

The lobbying trip to Capitol Hill has turned out to be an accidental highlight of the convention, which had not been held in Washington since 1987.

"It's pure coincidence the convention is here in D.C.," said NAACP legislative assistant Matthew Segal, "but it's perfect."

In the 41 years since its initial passage, the Voting Rights Act has been credited with stopping the systematic disenfranchisement of black voters through barriers such as poll taxes and literacy tests.

Much of the legislation, including a provision that bans racial discrimination at the ballot box, is permanent law.

But several key provisions are temporary and will expire next year if not renewed by Congress. One provision requires certain states with a history of voter discrimination to get federal approval for voting law changes. Another imposes a language assistance requirement on jurisdictions with a high percentage of voters whose native language is not English.

The House voted to extend the provisions last week after GOP leaders quelled a rebellion among some members from Southern states who objected to the provisions as an affront to states' rights. The matter now rests with the Senate.

"We'll celebrate the House, but we'll pressure the Senate," said Gordon, a retired Verizon executive who was chosen as the NAACP's leader last year, succeeding Kweisi Mfume, a former congressman who is running for the U.S. Senate in Maryland.

Mfume left a controversial legacy after allegations surfaced that he had shown favoritism toward some female employees.

He has denied the allegations, but they have been a burden for the venerable organization, which is battling to remain relevant and attract members in an era when some are tempted to take the advances of the civil rights movement for granted.

The group's membership is about 300,000, Gordon said, and he is leading a push to boost that.

"We've got a target to have 1 million members by the centennial, in 2009," Gordon said.

He and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond also renewed their invitation to President Bush to visit the convention. Bush has turned down invitations to attend five previous NAACP gatherings.

"My hope," Gordon said, "is that for the first time in his administration, the president of the United States will see fit to join the oldest and largest civil rights organization when the Voting Rights Act is on the table."

"If he comes," Bond added, "we'll give him a good old NAACP welcome."

A White House spokeswoman, Christie Parell, declined to say yesterday whether Bush planned to attend.

"No announcement has been made," she said.