House passes John Lewis Advancement of Voting Rights Act

The House on Tuesday passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act which seeks to strengthen a key component of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act after it was weakened by two Supreme Court rulings.

The legislation, named after the late civil rights icon, was passed by the House with a final vote of 219-212. There was no Republican support.

HR 4 would reinstate the pre-authorization formula of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2013.

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a key provision that mandated a federal review of local election laws and states with a history of electoral discrimination, was removed after Shelby County, Alabama, filed a lawsuit in Washington, DC The Supreme Court has ruled that requiring states to seek Justice Department approval before changing voting procedures is unconstitutional.

With at least 17 Republican-led state legislatures recently passing restrictions on voting, Democrats and voting advocates have said the bill will ensure access to the ballot for minority voters.

“It is unpatriotic to undermine the ability of those entitled to vote and to have access to the ballot boxes. As John knew, this precious pillar of our democracy is under attack by the worst voter suppression campaign in America since Jim. Crow. Started by the dangerous Shelby v. Holder as mentioned in 2013, in 2021 state lawmakers introduced over 400 removal bills, ”Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said during a debate in the House.

House Republicans called the bill a “federal election takeover” and a “takeover” by Democrats that would undermine the state’s electoral process.

Alabama Democratic Representative Terri Sewell, who drafted the bill, told reporters federal intervention is needed to tackle what Democrats describe as voter suppression across the country.

“The old battles have become news again,” Sewell said in a joint press conference with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, of D-Texas and Democratic Texas lawmakers who remained in the nation’s capital after “fleeing” their state. ‘origin to break the quorum. six weeks ago to prevent a new state election law.

“When we see states going wild, we need federal oversight. If it hadn’t been for federal oversight, not only would we not have gotten the Voting Rights Act, but we didn’t. would not have obtained civil rights law. After Shelby v. According to the incumbent’s ruling, we have seen states like North Carolina and Texas reinstate restrictive election laws and those election laws are repressive, oppressive and depressive . They prevent people who must vote from voting, ”Sewell said Tuesday.

The House passed an older version of the Voting Rights Act last year after Lewis’ death, but it was ultimately blocked. Bill now faces a similar uphill battle this year as he moves to the Senate, where there is strong Republican opposition within the equally divided body.