周二下午, Democratic lawmakers stood on consecrated ground — the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, 阿拉巴马州.
The members of Congress weren’t there simply to honor the sacrifices of the late civil rights icon 约翰•路易斯 和 hundreds of other marchers who braved police tear gas and clubs for the right to vote, 就像他们过去做的那样. They were gathered to announce the introduction of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H. R. 4), transformative legislation that would restore the protections of the 投票权法案 that Lewis fought so hard to enact as a civil rights activist.
In 2013, the Supreme Court’s infamous 谢尔比县v. 持有人 decision invalidated the 1965 law’s Section 5 “preclearance” requirements, which prevented jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination from changing 投票 rules without permission from the Justice Department or a federal court. In the ruling gutting the landmark civil rights law, Chief Justice John Roberts waved away concerns of new 投票 restrictions, claiming that “nearly 50 years later, things 有 changed dramatically.”
不幸的是,事情 有 changed dramatically — just not how Roberts thought.
The danger of new 投票 restrictions is no longer theoretical. 这是一个残酷的现实. After record voter turnout in 2020, Republican state legislators around the country 有 responded by cracking down on the right to vote. 布伦南中心 research shows that this year, 49 states 有 introduced over 400 bills with provisions that make it harder to vote, 30 of which 有 become law in 18 states. Just last month, the Supreme Court’s decision in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee weakened Section 2 of the 投票权法案, degrading citizens’ ability to challenge policies that lead to 投票 discrimination.
This all paints a bleak picture as the nation’s first redistricting cycle since the 谢尔比县 决定织机, potentially redefining the balance of power in Congress and state legislatures for the next decade.
我的同事Wendy Weiser 告诉国会昨天, the bill named for Lewis is an essential step in turning the tide in this war on 投票 rights. Restoring preclearance and strengthening Section 2 of the original 投票权法案 would undo much of the damage from the Brnovich 和 谢尔比县 裁决.
President Biden has placed his full support behind it, and his Justice Department has told Congress that the bill must be passed so that the federal government can properly protect Americans’ 投票 rights nationwide as the midterms quickly approach. The legislation would provide a desperately needed bulwark against continuing state voter suppression efforts.
Congress must pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act without delay.
