|
 The legislation would provide a new formula to determine if any
state or locality — not just those with a history of racial
discrimination — should be required to obtain prior federal approval
to changes in its election rules.
A top Republican, Representative Jim Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin,
joined two Democrats — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick
Leahy of Vermont and Representative John Conyers of Michigan — to
take the lead in drafting the measure.
Backers predicted congressional passage, possibly before November
elections.
But it was unclear when the Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led
House of Representatives, which have clashed on most issues in
recent years, would take it up.
The measure is the result of a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruling in
June on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a centerpiece of the U.S.
civil rights movement.
The high court struck down the requirement that nine states, mostly
in the South, obtain prior federal approval because of their history
of racial discrimination.
The court declared that Congress, in updating the law in 2006, had
used outdated facts in deciding that these states must continue to
get federal pre-clearance for election law changes.
In doing so, the court challenged Congress to come up with a
replacement plan to protect minority voters where discrimination
persists rather than target former slaveholding southern states.
Under the Voting Rights Act Amendment of 2014, states would need
prior federal approval to change election laws if they had five or
more violations of federal law in the previous 15 years.
A jurisdiction would need federal approval if it had three or more
violations in the previous 15 years or has had one violation and
"persistent and extremely low minority voter turnout."
[to top of second column] |
The bill was introduced in the House and Senate.
"Our sole focus throughout this entire process was to ensure that no
American would be denied his or her constitutional right to vote
because of discrimination on the basis of race or color," Leahy
said.
"We believe that this is a strong bipartisan bill that accomplishes
this goal and that every member of Congress can support," Leahy
added.
Said Sensenbrenner, a former chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee, "The modernized VRA (Voting Rights Act) is constitutional
and bipartisan."
In addition to Leahy and Conyers, other Democratic sponsors include:
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin of Illinois, Senator
Chris Coons of Delaware and Representative John Lewis of Georgia,
who a half century ago was a leader in the civil rights movement.
In addition to Sensenbrenner, other Republican sponsors include:
Representatives Spenser Bachus of Alabama, Sean Duffy of Wisconsin
and Steve Chabot of Ohio.
(Additional reporting by Laurence Hurley;
editing by Cynthia Osterman)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
