The Independent View: Congressional Hearings on the Voting Rights Act

The Senate will begin an attempt to update the Voting Rights Act by hearing testimony on July 17, 2013 from a civil rights icon and a key steward of the Act in the past.

Sen. Pat Leahy’s Judiciary Committee will hear testimony from Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), who led a 1965 Peace March in Selma, Ala., and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), who chaired the House Judiciary Committee in 2006 when Congress last reauthorized the Voting Rights Act by overwhelming votes in both chambers. That effort seven years ago was precipitated by about 20 hearings, according to Leahy’s office.

The House hearing, scheduled for July 18, 2013, will be held by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice, a committee chaired by Rep. Trent Franks, an Arizona Republican. He was one of 33 Republicans to vote against the 2006 re-authorization of the VRA, which passed with 390 House members supporting it.

The formula for coverage under Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act

As enacted in 1965, the first element in the formula was whether, on November 1, 1964, the state or a political subdivision of the state maintained a "test or device" restricting the opportunity to register and vote. The Act's definition of a "test or device" included such requirements as the applicant being able to pass a literacy test, establish that he or she had good moral character, or have another registered voter vouch for his or her qualifications.

The second element of the formula would be satisfied if the Director of the Census determined that less than 50 percent of persons of voting age were registered to vote on November 1, 1964, or that less than 50 percent of persons of voting age voted in the presidential election of November 1964.

In 1970, Congress recognized the continuing need for the special provisions of the Act, which were due to expire that year, and renewed them for another five years. It added a second prong to the coverage formula, identical to the original formula except that it referenced November 1968 as the relevant date for the maintenance of a test or device and the levels of voter registration and electoral participation.

In 1975, the Act's special provisions were extended for another seven years, and were broadened to address voting discrimination against members of "language minority groups," which were defined as persons who are American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Natives or of Spanish heritage." As before, Congress expanded the coverage formula, based on the presence of tests or devices and levels of voter registration and participation as of November 1972. In addition, the 1965 definition of "test or device" was expanded to include the practice of providing any election information, including ballots, only in English in states or political subdivisions where members of a single language minority constituted more than five percent of the citizens of voting age.

In 1982, the coverage formula was extended again, this time for 25 years, but no changes were made to it. In 2006, the coverage formula was again extended for 25 years. Section 4, along with those other sections that are dependent upon it, such as Section 5 and 8, will expire in 2031.

So Section 4 is in suspension until a new formula is established.