US House Passes Voting Rights Bill, Reinstating Key Provision Of Landmark Law | Voting rights in the United States

The bill now faces an uncertain future in the US Senate, where it needs the support of 10 Republican senators to overcome the filibuster and pass. While Sen. Joe Manchin, a decisive vote for Democrats, supports the bill, only one Republican, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, has indicated she is doing so.

The House passed a similar version of the legislation in 2019, winning a single GOP vote, but never passed the Senate, which was then under the control of the GOP.

The legislation is one of the two pillars of pressure from Congressional Democrats to protect voting rights. It sets a retrospective period of 25 years for the evaluation of voting rights in the jurisdictions. If the courts have documented at least 15 violations of voting rights in a state during that period, the state will need to have any changes to the voting rules approved by the federal government before it comes into effect (if the violation is committed by the state as a whole only 10 violations are necessary to trigger federal oversight).

The updated formula comes eight years after the United States Supreme Court ruled that the formula in the law that determined which states were precleared was obsolete and overturned it. Advocates for the vote said the ruling, in a case called Shelby County v Holder, gave states the green light to discriminate against black voters.

“The old battles have indeed become new again. While literacy tests and voting taxes no longer exist, some states and local jurisdictions have passed laws that are modern barriers to voting, ”said Terri Sewell, a Democrat from Alabama who represents Selma on Tuesday. in Congress.

The states expected to get the electoral changes approved are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, said Peyton McCrary, a former ministry historian. Justice, earlier this month. Several large counties in the United States, including Los Angeles County in California, Cook County in Illinois, Westchester County in New York City, Cuyahoga County in Ohio, and Northampton County in Virginia could also be covered, according to McCrary.

The law also outlines several procedures that would be subject to federal preclearance across the country, including changes to voter identification laws, reductions in polling stations, and changes to policies that determine who gets removed from voters lists.

Republicans called the measure unnecessary, saying it gives too much power to the federal government to oversee the election.

“If you vote for this legislation, you are voting for a federal election takeover,” said Congressman Rodney Davis, a Republican from Illinois. “I hope my colleagues and the American people see this bill for what it is, a partisan takeover.”

During debate on the bill, Democrats scoffed at the idea that the bill was unnecessary. They noted that this happened as Republican lawmakers across the country passed hundreds of bills to enact voting restrictions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described it as “America’s worst voter suppression campaign since Jim Crow.”

While federal preclearance is the most touted part of the bill, the legislation also includes several other new provisions designed to protect voting rights. It essentially overturns a Supreme Court ruling made earlier this year, making it extremely difficult to challenge election laws under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. It also strengthens protections under the law on voting rights for minority voters during the redistribution process.

The bill would also address two issues that emerged in the unprecedented string of litigation in the 2020 election. First, the courts could not simply refuse to overturn a law because an election is near – something several courts have said. done in 2020. Second, courts should explain their reasoning in voting rights cases, a provision designed to target the Supreme Court’s practice of not publishing explanations in emergency cases on its “shadow docket” .

Beyond the John Lewis Bill, Democrats are also trying to pass the For The People Act, sweeping legislation that would ban harsh partisan gerrymandering, set minimum requirements for early voting, and require automatic voter registration on the day. same day and online, among other measures. Voting rights experts say both measures are necessary to fully protect voting rights, although Democrats have not unveiled a plan to circumvent the filibuster.