Sixty years ago, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act (VRA) into law, outlawing discriminatory barriers that prevented voters of color from exercising their right to vote. Section 5 of the VRA prevented states and jurisdictions with histories of racial discrimination in voting from making any changes to voting or election procedures — even moving a polling place — without being reviewed by a federal court in DC. The burden was on the jurisdiction to show that the change was not discriminatory before it could go into effect.
Unfortunately, Section 5 has been inoperable since 2013 after the US Supreme Court struck down the formula that determined which jurisdictions were subject to Section 5 in Shelby County (Alabama) v. Holder. Since the Shelby County case gutted Section 5, at least 31 states have adopted laws that make it harder to vote, with the burden falling hardest on Black voters and other voters of color.
We need a fully restored VRA to defend our democracy and protect the freedom to vote. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (JLVRAA) restores the federal government’s ability to review changes to voting laws that could disenfranchise voters and ensures transparency in the electoral process.
Pending in the U.S. Senate is the SAVE Act (H.R.22) which would require citizenship documentation to register to vote despite the fact that voters in every state are already required to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering.
It is already illegal for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. Additionally, state election officials ban non-citizen voting in all state elections and have systems to verify an individual voter’s eligibility and ensure that voter rolls are accurate. The bill’s requirement of a document to prove American citizenship to register to vote in federal elections is unnecessary and creates yet another barrier to voting.
The League supports the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (JLVRAA) and opposes the SAVE Act.