On 51st Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, We Should Recall How It Was Gutted by GOP Appointees to the Supreme Court

By Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Facebook Page

08 August 16

omorrow is the 51st anniversary of the historic Voting Rights Act – which Republican appointees on the Supreme Court gutted in 2013, in “Shelby v. Holder.” And we’re less than 100 days until the first presidential election in 50 years without the full protections of that Act.

Since it was gutted, states and cities have enacted a wave of voter discrimination laws intended to restrict the right to vote for people of color, people with disabilities, students and others. Recent court victories turning back a few of these laws (in North Carolina, Wisconsin, Texas, North Dakota, and Kansas) have proven these efforts are widespread -- and they require massive investments of time and money to litigate. Which is just what the Voting Rights Act was designed to prevent. For every statewide law that can be litigated for years, there are countless city, county, and school board changes to voting districts, precinct locations, and new barriers to registering and voting that will never be litigated in court.

As documented in the recent report, “Warning Signs,” below, rollbacks in voting rights in several swing states could determine the outcome of 84 Electoral College votes and control of the Senate. Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that its deployment of election observers would be “severely curtailed” because of the “Shelby” decision.

The Voting Rights Advancement Act, introduced in both chambers of Congress in June 2015, has bipartisan support in the Senate. The Voting Rights Amendment Act, introduced in the House in February 2015, has bipartisan support as well. Yet with Republicans in control of both chambers neither bill has even received a hearing. Republican chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees – Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Chuck Grassley of Iowa – are in charge of scheduling hearings, but have chosen not to.

If you live in Virginia or Iowa, I hope you’re letting Goodlatte and Grassley know you’ll vote against them in November if they continue to stonewall. More generally, I hope you’ll vote to get the Senate and House back from under Republican control.

What do you think?