Roanoke Rally Issues Call to Action on Voting Rights

By Benjamin Anderson June 27, 2015
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Project Vote’s Benjamin Anderson and Michelle Rupp. Photo: Project Vote

On Thursday I had the privilege of traveling to Roanoke, Va. to rally alongside hundreds of people in support of the Voting Rights Advancement Act. The Act, introduced in Congress on Wednesday by Senators Leahy, Durbin and Coons and Representatives Lewis, Sewell, Sanchez, and Chu, has a simple objective: restore the Voting Rights Act, the law that has guarded against discrimination at the polls for 50 years. It is hard to imagine such an objective could be controversial, yet for two years now Congress has refused to consider the issue.

The Voting Rights Act, originally passed in 1965, prohibits voting discrimination nationwide and, until 2013, provided further protection by subjecting certain states and counties to “preclearance,” a requirement that changes to election laws and practices first be approved by the Department of Justice or a three-judge court. The jurisdictions subject to preclearance were chosen based on a formula that took into account their histories of discriminatory voting practices.

But in 2013 the Supreme Court famously gutted the VRA with a shocking 5-4 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, finding the preclearance formula unconstitutional. The Court, however, noted “voting discrimination still exists” and left Congress with the task of restoring this central component of the VRA by “draft[ing] another formula based on current conditions.” Until Congress acts, no jurisdiction is subject to the preclearance requirement.

Congress has had this urgent task on its plate for two years now, yet it has failed to act.

The Voting Rights Advancement Act now becomes the second bill pending in Congress to restore the VRA, yet thus far the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, has refused to hold a hearing on the issue.

On Thursday, supporters came together in Roanoke, right in the heart of Goodlatte’s district, to demand a hearing. The event was a testament to the power of coalition organizing; hundreds of voting rights supporters, some driving five hours from Washington, D.C., stood together for a common cause.

Groups in attendance included the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, NAACP, the Human Rights Campaign, faith-based groups, and of course, voting rights organizations like Project Vote.

One message from the rally’s speakers was abundantly clear: voting discrimination is not just a thing of the past. Since the Court struck down the preclearance formula just two years ago, a number of states have implemented new laws that make it harder for people to vote, disproportionately impacting certain Americans along racial and other demographic lines.

Rep. Goodlatte repeatedly claims he has not seen any evidence that voter discrimination persists, but many of the rally’s speakers said that is exactly why he needs to hold a hearing: so elections experts can present the evidence. From voter ID requirements to laws eliminating same-day registration and early voting, Shelby County’s impact spreads far and wide. But Rep. Goodlatte does not need to take voting rights advocates’ word for it; he can look to the Supreme Court itself, which declared in Chief Justice Roberts’ majority opinion,in Shelby County that “voting discrimination still exists; no one doubts that.”

If Rep. Goodlatte does not act, America will soon face the first presidential election since 1965 without the full protection of the Voting Rights Act, and many stand to be disenfranchised.

In light of the 50th Anniversary of the Selma march, widely commemorated across the country this year, it is shocking that today the Selma demonstrators’ primary legislative accomplishment could become undone, but even more shocking that some in Congress would actively work to prevent its restoration.

Thursday’s rally in Roanoke issued a simple call to action to Rep. Goodlatte. It is one that does not require much effort, and should not be controversial. It is just the right thing to do.

Hold a hearing.

#RestoreTheVRA

If you would like to petition your Representative to restore the Voting Rights Act, please join us by signing this petition.