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The Attorney General explained how the 1965 Voting Rights Act gave the Department of Justice the power to block “discriminatory vote changes” while providing control over that power. This power was then emptied by the decision of the Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder, which left the department powerless on voter protection, Garland wrote.
“Instead, the Department of Justice was left with expensive and time-consuming tools that have many loopholes that plagued federal law before 1965,” he said.
Garland has repeatedly asserted that the right to vote is a central priority in the Biden administration, in the wake of the 2020 election. The attorney general has pledged to protect Americans’ democratic rights and has increased the staff of the department dedicated to the application of voting rights this summer.
“There are a lot of things that are open for debate in America, but the right of all eligible citizens to vote is not one of them,” Garland said in a June speech. “The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, the right from which all other rights ultimately flow. “
Voting rights legislation faces serious challenges in Congress, given the slim majority of Democrats in both chambers, and civil rights groups and activists have grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in Washington as a result. that laws continue to emerge in Republican-controlled states, making the task more difficult. vote.
In March, the House passed the Democrats’ Election Reform and Ethics Package, and Democrats are expected to introduce a bill as early as this week to reinstate parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and named after civil rights icon John Lewis.
Garland mentioned Lewis twice in Thursday night’s editorial, pulling a quote from a column published after his death last year.
Lewis recalled an important lesson taught by Martin Luther King Jr.: “Each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak out and speak out. When you see something wrong, you have to say something. You have to do something, ”Garland wrote.
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