Posted on 06/25/2015 2:03:00 PM PDT by jazusamo
Democrats have rolled out a proposal that would restore a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court struck down in 2013.
The bill, introduced by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), would establish a new formula to determine which state and local governments are required to get approval before changing their voting laws.
Under the legislation, states that have a "record of racial discrimination" within the past 25 years would need federal approval to change their voting laws, according to a fact sheet from Leahy's office.
The proposal would also allow federal courts to require state and local jurisdictions to get clearance if the new laws "have discriminatory results."
Leahy called his legislation "a voting rights bill for all Americans."
"It is a bill for the next generation, and helps protect the legacy of the previous generation who fought so hard five decades ago for these voting rights protections," he added.
The Democrats' proposal would also aim to increase transparency surrounding changes in voting laws, and allow a court to block a voting law that's under review until a final legal ruling is made.
House and Senate Democrats suggested the legislation is a necessary step in the wake of voting laws passed by states since the Supreme Court's Shelby v. Holder decision, which threw out the legislation's old formula.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who backed the bill on the Senate floor Thursday, said "there's little question that Republican-controlled state legislatures are taking advantage of this decision."
"Congress must act to protect one of those most important legislative accomplishments of the Civil Rights Era, and we should ensure that every American has equal access to the ballot," he added, saying that the legislation "would restore the heart of the Voting Rights Act."
Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) added that "if it was not clear in 2014, I think it is clear today that we have come a great distance in this country toward healing the divisions and problems among us, but we are not there yet."
Lewis is part of a handful of Democrats introducing a companion bill in the House.
The Obama administration is also throwing its weight behind the bill, with White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest saying that "Congress should give this bill the consideration it deserves and work together to protect that most essential right upon which our country was founded: the right to vote."
The legislation will likely face pushback from congressional Republicans.
As ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee last year, Sen. Chuck Grassley questioned whether new legislation was needed .
The Iowa Republican is now chairman of the committee, giving him large sway over what gets taken up.
Rep. Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, also told The Roanoke Times earlier this week that, "the fact of the matter is we have a Voting Rights Act; it is very strong."
January, 2014 Rep. Sensenbrenner pushes bill to update Voting Rights Act (RINO)
Dems think they have a winner here and a way back into power in DC ,LOL
Gee, hooda thunk. DemocRATS playing the race card....again, again, again, again, again.
Would it have anything to do with the fact we have a racist administration????
Yep, and all the turmoil in the news lately about discrimination, they think they have a winner now.
That would be since 1990 and the honest answer would have to be
That is, unless you count the New Black Panther party guys with clubs in Philadelphia election precincts. You know, the ones Eric Holder refused to prosecute because they were his people.
Let’s just put all the cards on the table, people who voted Republican in the last 25 years should be regulated and their every decision reviewed by the democrats in Congress.
Now that the commie DemocRats have destroyed the ballot method of voting, I believe that it is time for some serious comprehesive election reform. We have got to come up with a method of voting that will guarantee that only eligible voters get to vote and they can only vote once. Government handout freeloaders must be closely monitored to insure that they only vote once per election.
You’re correct and the Rats are against any laws the states pass to ensure citizenship of a registrant, positive identification of voters and purging of dead voters and voters who have moved from the rolls.
Leahy is jumping on the bandwagon now that democrats have the white guilt bloc, race pimps and blacks all in a frenzy over the Confederate Battle Flag.
Exactly.
Democrat hypocrisy plumb new depths.
Well, one thing you can say about the Democratic Party is that they are true to their constituents and they fight for their interests.
The GOPe, on the other hand, backstabs and kneecaps their nominal constituents - conservatives. The Republican party and their GOPe masters say they are conservative, yet they demean and sabotage Ted Cruz and try to marginilize Tea Partiers, Evangelicals, and Constitutional Conservatives.
Unless you are a big corporate executive campaign contributor, a K Street lobbyist, or a member of the Country Club set, today’s GOPe-led Republican Party does not care about you.
If something happened a long time ago it doesn’t matter. Guilt is never erased, even after the death of all involved.
The particular change in voting laws they are trying to prevent is Voter ID.
States rights are going the way of the DoDo bird laddies. The emperor willed it. The wussy republicans (small r ‘cause they don’t deserve a capital one) are no longer representative of anything but their own personal interest.
Republicans should have been courting blacks for years. They let the left get away with murder. Now the left is just trying to guarantee they can keep them under their thumbs.
Do we still have voting? Whatever for?
Here’s a way to deal with this.
Pass the bill, but only after amending it so that the determination of whether a state has engaged in a pattern of racial discrimination is made by Act of Congress.
Let the Congress hold open, public hearings where both sides get to make their case openly, publicly and transparently.
You’ll see the Dems falling all over themselves voting against it.
If voting made any difference they wouldn't let us do it." Mark Twain -
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