My take on the Hill reporting on the prospect that Congress might create new rules for Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act. The old Section 4 was suspended by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, 2013. According to the article, there is support among some Democrats and Republicans for a bill to enact new rules for Section 4, the Preclearance rules.
Section 4 was the part of the Act that determined which parts of the nation are subject to Section 5, the Preclearance requirement. The original act, passed in 1965, said certain parts of the country that had a bad record on voting rights must get permission from the Justice Department before changing any election laws. Section 5 is still intact, but it has no practical usefulness if there is no rules on which parts of the country should be included in Section 5.
Both chambers are working behind the scenes to draft legislation to re-install the Voting Rights Act protections. But in a sign of the delicate nature of the topic, Senate Democrats are taking care not to rush ahead of the House, for fear of sinking the bill's chances in the GOP-controlled lower chamber.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) is working with House Democrats and a small contingent of House Republicans, notably former Judiciary Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner(Wis.), who championed the 2006 Voting Rights Act re-authorization, in an effort to defuse the partisan politics surrounding the thorny issue and forge a bill that has the best chance of becoming law.
Leahy said he'd hoped a July hearing on the Voting Rights Act, which featured testimony from Sensenbrenner and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) the civil rights hero, would have propelled the debate and made the case for bipartisan support of a fix.
But the August recess, the arrival of the Syria crisis and the fight over the government shutdown have all intervened to slow the process, and the negotiators have yet to produce even a draft bill.
Sensenbrenner has been vocally supporting a legislative response to the Supreme Court's Voting Rights Act decision, which found that the decades-old formula dictating which states must get federal approval to change election laws is outdated and therefore unconstitutional.
But he could have a powerful ally in House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who has signaled support for a response to the high court's ruling. Before the August recess, Cantor had met one-on-one with Lewis to discuss the subject, and Lewis said afterwards that the Virginia Republican is "by all means" supportive of a legislative fix. Cantor continues to meet with members of both parties in the hopes of finding a positive path forward regarding the Voting Rights Act.
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and one of the leaders in the effort to rewrite the Voting Rights Act, suggested last week that a draft bill will be finalized near mid-November. Pushing the debate to next year, Scott warned, risks entangling the debate in the tough politics of the mid-terms.
My solution is to make the Preclearance issue part of the Census and take it out of Congressional hands. The test rules should also always include any new schemes that would put barriers to eligible voters from exercising their voice.
Every ten years all states are "Bailed-In", and they have 90 days to submit their prior 10 years voting records. Those states that prove they have complied would then be able to "Bail-Out". This should be done before redistricting begins.
In the meantime, we could institute this Jan. 2014 before the mid-term election process begins.
What do you think of this idea?
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!
Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us 
No comments:
Post a Comment