The Voting Rights Act (VRA) is one of the most transformational laws that has ever been enacted. Prior to its passage, states not only passed laws that created barriers to the vote targeting Black Americans and other communities of color, they also erected new barriers after previous ones were struck down by the courts.
The goal of the VRA was to provide comprehensive protections to ensure access to the vote for those who were historically denied a voice in our democracy. These protections included federal oversight for jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination, a nationwide prohibition against laws that denied or abridged the right to vote, and assistance for voters with limited English proficiency or those who are blind, disabled, or unable to read. These provisions work together to ensure that voters of color are protected from the range of nefarious means historically used to keep them from the ballot.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court’s disastrous 2013 decision Shelby County v. Holder set the table for undermining the ability to stop the implementation of discriminatory voting laws. It found unconstitutional and nullified the provisions that allowed for robust federal oversight. The court recognized the success of the Voting Rights Act but ignored the continued need for its full protections. The iconic dissent by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg summed up the fallacy of this approach: “Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in the rainstorm because you are not getting wet.”
Today, we are confronting that rainstorm of discriminatory voting laws. The lack of federal oversight has opened up the floodgates to laws that, as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals noted in assessing North Carolina’s omnibus voter suppression bill, are being enacted with “surgical precision” to make it harder for Black Americans and other people of color to vote.
Following the 2020 elections, far too many states have continued this despicable trend. According to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice, as of July 2021, 18 states have enacted 30 laws that make it harder to vote. These states are deliberately targeting practices that expand access to the ballot, particularly ones used by voters of color. It’s shameful.
Unfortunately, in July 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee continued its assault on the VRA by targeting Section 2, the nationwide provision against discriminatory voting practices and procedures. The court ruled in favor of an increased burden on the right to vote in the face of imaginary threats to election integrity.
As we commemorate the anniversary of the iconic Voting Rights Act, we cannot forget its fate is at the mercy of a divided Congress. The right to vote has always been beyond the partisan divide. When the Voting Rights Act was reauthorized in 2006, the vote was 390–33 in the House of Representatives and 98 – 0 in the Senate. All of the reauthorizations were signed into law by Republican presidents. Congress and the American public cannot allow this law to fall victim to partisan politics.
In a democracy, the unfettered right to vote is essential. Without the vote, the voice of the people cannot be heard. When the right to vote is curtailed, democracy is imperiled. At key moments throughout the history of this country, we have risen to the occasion and saved our democracy from the dark impulses that would deny the full participation of the people in determining their representatives. This is such a moment. And, we the people, need to demand action.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent voting decisions have made it imperative for Congress to act. Congress can begin by restoring the full protections of the Voting Rights Act. Fifty-six years after its passage, our nation must demand nothing less than a robust Voting Rights Act that will prevent our nation from becoming divided between states where some voters have full access to the ballot and others where voters have to jump over numerous barriers in the hopes of being able to cast a ballot that will count. As Chief Justice John Roberts noted in 2013: “voting discrimination still exists; no one doubts that.”
Marcia Johnson-Blanco is the co-director of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.