Writing in dissent last summer, Justice Elena Kagan commented that the Voting Rights Act (VRA) represents the best and the worst of America. The best, she writes, because “[i]t marries two great ideals: democracy and racial equality.” The worst, “[b]ecause it was—and remains—so necessary.”
The Voting Rights Act was originally passed in 1965 as one of the chief legislative accomplishments of the civil rights movement. Since then, it has safeguarded the right to vote, guarding against discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests and racial gerrymandering. Since 1965, the VRA has regularly been reauthorized by Congress, with broad bipartisan support.
But the VRA is on shaky footing in 2022, facing opposition both in Congress and at the Supreme Court. In Shelby County v. Holder, a 2013 decision, the Supreme Court eviscerated Section 5 of the VRA, which forced cities and states with a history of racial discrimination to seek approval for changes in election rules. In Brnovich v. DNC, a 2021 decision, the Court curtailed Section 2 as well, making it harder to prove that a voting law is racially discriminatory. These two decisions make it significantly harder for voting rights advocates to succeed in court. But facing shrinking protections under the VRA, Congress has failed to successfully step in.
Congress's inaction is perplexing. For decades, members of Congress from both parties have worked to reauthorize the VRA. While some people today inaccurately consider the VRA to be a “liberal” bill, the VRA was reauthorized by Republican Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. As recently as 2006, Republican President George W. Bush signed an extension of the VRA, a bill receiving overwhelming bipartisan support from Congress. But this Congress remains unable to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore key portions of the VRA, thanks to a divide that is largely along party lines. In fact, 16 sitting Republican senators voted for the 2006 extension of the VRA, but against the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
TELL YOUR SENATORS TO PASS THE JOHN LEWIS VOTING RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT ACT