Washington ? 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 Saturday.

“We’ll be showing up in numbers,” said NAACP President Bruce 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.

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,” 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.

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