Susan Yarbrough Smith 53 mins · Pawleys Island, SC Today, the Republican House Judiciary Chairman said it was not “necessary” to fix the Voting Rights Act, despite the fact that the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Section 4 of the VRA has clearly opened the door for burdensome and unfair voting restrictions that have already begun to make voting more difficult for countless Americans including women, young people, seniors, African Americans and Latino voters. See below for a response from Donna Brazile, DNC Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation: “Sadly, it’s no surprise that Republicans in Congress don’t think it’s ‘necessary’ to ensure all eligible Americans can exercise their most basic constitutional right – the right to vote. The GOP has seized the opportunity to restrict voting since the Supreme Court’s decision, pursuing legislation in states across the country to limit access to the ballot. This is unacceptable and goes against our values as Americans. As Democrats, we will continue fighting to ensure voting isnt downgraded from a right to a privilege, and will instead work to expand the voter for more Americans.” House Judiciary Chairman: Not Necessary To Fix Voting Rights Act TPM//Sahil Kapur House Republicans have determined that its not necessary to enact a legislative fix to the Voting Rights Act in the wake of the 2013 Supreme Court decision that gutted a centerpiece of the law, the chairman with jurisdiction over the law told reporters on Wednesday. There are still very, very strong protections in the Voting Rights Act in the area that the Supreme Court ruled on, which is the question of whether or not certain states — there were, I think 11 states, all Southern states that were required by law to seek precleareance of any changes in where polling places are located and other matters like that, House Judiciary Chair Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) said at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. He said Republicans have studied the issue and solicited input from experts. To this point we have not seen a process forward that is necessary because we believe the Voting Rights Act provided substantial protection in this area right now, he said. And well continue to examine, well continue to listen to the concerns of individuals. The Court invalidated Section 4 of the landmark 1965 law, which lists the state and local governments that must receive federal pre-approval before changing their voting laws. By a 5-4 vote the justices deemed the formula invalid on the basis that it uses data dating back to the 1970s to finger jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting. The Court found that the instances of discrimination were very old, Goodlatte said. The Judiciary chairman also pointed out that Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act remains on the books, allowing bail in of jurisdictions under the pre-clearance requirement if they demonstrate a record of discrimination. But you cant do it based on arbitrary factors, he said. Republican support for fixing the Voting Rights Act is scant. One year ago this week, such a proposal was introduced by Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE).
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 22:54:53 +0000
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