Commentary: Repairing the Voting Rights Act


When the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Voting Rights Act last year, it seemed impossible a divided Congress would be able to agree on legislation that would satisfy the court's concerns and restore robust enforcement of the landmark civil rights law. But a creative new proposal may confound the cynics.

Last June, the court by a 5-4 vote struck down the formula used in the Voting Rights Act to determine which states and localities must "pre-clear" voting procedures with the Justice Department or a federal court in Washington. Pre-clearance made it harder for states with a history of discriminating against African Americans and other minorities to slide back into their old ways.

In rejecting the coverage formula, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. complained it was rooted in data from the 1960s and '70s and didn't reflect current conditions, including dramatically increased participation in the political process by African-Americans in the Deep South.

After the decision, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. called on Congress to enact a new version of the provision struck down by the court. Holder moved to make greater use of another part of the law that allows judges to "bail in" for federal pre-clearance states that have violated voting rights. The problem with bail-in is while other parts of the act prohibit practices that have a discriminatory effect, states can be bailed in to pre-clearance only if they have been guilty of intentional racial discrimination. That leaves untouched policies that make it harder for minorities to elect candidates of their choice.

The bill proposed by Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., and Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., would solve that problem by allowing judges to order pre-clearance if a state has adopted policies that have the effect of discriminating against minorities. A separate provision proposes rules for automatically triggering pre-clearance: A state that committed five voting violations over a 15-year period would be subject to federal scrutiny of election changes for 10 years.

Some civil rights activists worry the bill's definition of voting rights violations explicitly excludes objections by the Justice Department to a photo ID requirement. Their concern is understandable, given evidence photo ID requirements disproportionately inconvenience racial minorities, the poor and the elderly. But it is outweighed by the fact the legislation would repair much of the damage inflicted on voting rights by the court's rash decision.

There was a time not many years ago when both parties recognized the importance of protecting the right to vote. The Leahy-Sensenbrenner bill offers an opportunity to recover that consensus.

Los Angeles Times

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