The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for June 26, 2024
Today’s Script
(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
June 25th is the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s infamous Shelby County v. Holder decision. It stripped federal oversight of states with a history of discrimination from the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Since then, over 100 restrictive voting bills have been passed by state legislatures.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed after decades of state-backed terrorism and discrimination toward Black Americans simply trying to register and vote. The VRA’s Section 5 required states with a track record of discrimination to “preclear” new voting laws with the U.S. Justice Department to make sure it QUOTE, “neither has the purpose nor will have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color.” Congress renewed Section 5 in 2006 in an uncontroversial bipartisan vote.
In 2013, a now more conservative U.S. Supreme Court determined, against the fervent objections of democracy and civil rights groups, that Section 5’s formula for preclearance was outdated and unconstitutional. It asked Congress to legislate a new formula, which it has not done, resulting in no enforcement. Unfettered, anti-voter state legislatures have passed over 100 laws restricting voting in the last decade, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Fixes in the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act languish in a dysfunctional Congress. Seven states have meanwhile enacted VRAs of their own.
We have more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
U.S. Justice Department – About Section 5 Of The Voting Rights Act
Brennan Center for Justice – Shelby County v. Holder
Brennan Center for Justice – Shelby County v. Holder Case Documents
U.S. Supreme Court via Brennan Center – Decision in Shelby County v. Holder
Brennan Center for Justice – States Have Added Nearly 100 Restrictive Laws Since SCOTUS Gutted the Voting Rights Act 10 Years Ago
NAACP Legal Defense Fund – State Voting Rights Acts Provide Critical Protections to Black Voters and Other Voters of Color
Campaign Legal Center – Protecting the Freedom to Vote Through State Voting Rights Acts
Center for American Progress – The Protection of Voting Rights Requires State Action
Groups Taking Action:
NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Native American Rights Fund, ACLU, Declaration for American Democracy, Campaign Legal Center
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