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One year ago today, I was on the floor of the House of Representatives, staffing Members for the vote on #HR4—then called the "Voting Rights Advancement Act," since re-named the "John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act."
Congressman John Lewis was in the Chair. 1/
Congressman John Lewis was in the Chair. 1/
It was an electric moment. Congressman Lewis, the American hero whose life's work and blood was dedicated to the right to vote, banged the gavel on the Speaker's rostrum and announced that the bill passed by a vote of 228 to 187. The House applauded.
Seven years prior, Chief Justice Roberts wrote that "voting discrimination still exists; no one doubts that." But he gutted the Voting Rights Act anyway—a crowning achievement of the civil rights movement that Congressman Lewis helped lead.
That terrible SCOTUS decision in 2013—decided by a vote of 5 to 4—left it to Congress to update the formula used to determine which states & jurisdictions w/ a history of voting discrimination require "preclearance" from the federal government before implementing new voting laws.
The GOP controlled the House and passed no meaningful legislation in the interim. They wouldn't even hold a hearing.
Meanwhile, legislators in North Carolina passed a racist voting bill that the Fourth Circuit found discriminated against Black voters with "surgical precision."
Meanwhile, legislators in North Carolina passed a racist voting bill that the Fourth Circuit found discriminated against Black voters with "surgical precision."
In 2018, voters elected a new House of Representatives, and @SpeakerPelosi made voting rights a priority, designating the Voting Rights Advancement Act as H.R. 4, signifying that it was one of the highest priorities of the Congress. A year later, the House acted decisively.
. @RepMarciaFudge led the charge in collecting contemporaneous evidence of ongoing racial discrimination in voting from the field. She held official Congressional field hearings in 9 jurisdictions, publishing a report that supported the record in #HR4. https://cha.house.gov/sites/democrats.cha.house.gov/files/documents/Voting%20Rights%20and%20Election%20Administration%20in%20America.pdf
She and her Subcommittee colleagues heard from more than 60 witnesses and collected thousands of pages of documents, testimony, and records.
The Subcommittee found persistent discrimination in voting law changes such as purging voter registration rolls, cut backs to early voting, polling place closures, voter ID requirements, exact match signature match requirements, lack of language access and assistance.
The House Judiciary Committee held numerous hearings, as well, hearing from experts and scholars and advocates.
Advocates and lawyers provided reams of data to Congress. For example, @NAACP_LDF published devastating research documenting ongoing discriminatory tactics after the Supreme Court handed down Shelby County v. Holder. https://www.naacpldf.org/press-release/democracy-diminished-ldf-releases-report-on-state-and-local-threats-to-voting-rights-three-years-after-landmark-shelby-county-decision/
The @LawyersComm provided testimony documenting their litigation post-Shelby County. https://lawyerscommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/KC-Testimony-for-House-Admin-10.17.19-hearing_FINAL-with-appendices.pdf
. @civilrightsorg published Democracy Diverted, analyzing how 1,688 polling places closed between 2012 and 2018, almost double the 868 closures found in its 2016 report. https://civilrights.org/democracy-diverted/
There were many other reports and years of organizing that helped support the record for #HR4 when it finally passed the House one year ago.
#HR4 restores the full strength of the Voting Rights Act to stop discrimination in voting. It creates a new coverage formula based on a finding of repeated voting rights violations in the preceding 25 years.
#HR4 also installs a practice-based preclearance system. I.e., changes to the methods of elections (to or from at-large elections) in areas that are racially, ethnically, or linguistically diverse; reductions in language assistance; changes in documentation, etc. = federal review
Shamefully, only *1* Republican voted for #HR4 last year.
This was a major break from past Republican support for the Voting Rights Act. Also, all of its reauthorizations had been signed by GOP Presidents (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, GWBush).
In 2006, 192 GOP House Members voted aye.
This was a major break from past Republican support for the Voting Rights Act. Also, all of its reauthorizations had been signed by GOP Presidents (Nixon, Ford, Reagan, GWBush).
In 2006, 192 GOP House Members voted aye.
Meanwhile, Mitch McConnell has blocked it for 366 days (it's a leap year).
The House will advance this again next Congress. It's a critical piece of rebuilding our democracy. Congressman John Lewis' home state—and its two Senate seats—will be pivotal in advancing this to the White House for a presidential signature.
For now, I'm thankful for the extraordinary work of the people in the trenches who are fighting day in and day out in the courts, in legislatures, and in communities.
