Only S. 1 Will Override Existing Voter Suppression Laws

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FRED WERTHEIMER’S WEEKLY NOTE | May 20, 2021

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“Only S. 1 will prevent state voter suppression laws from denying millions of eligible citizens the ability to vote in the 2022 congressional elections and the 2024 presidential and congressional elections.”

Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) made a move this week to deflect attention away from his failure, to date, to support S. 1, the For the People Act. It did not work. (Manchin cosponsored the For the People Act in the last Congress.)

Senator Manchin, joined by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), wrote to Congressional leaders urging that they support “the bipartisan reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act through regular order.”

But Democrats in the Senate did not buy Manchin’s effort to use reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act as a means to continue avoiding S. 1.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) flatly rejected the Manchin move, recognizing that S. 1 is essential to override the numerous voter suppression laws being enacted by Republican-controlled state legislatures around the country.

Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) told The Intercept that focusing on the Voting Rights Act alone is “not sufficient to do anything about the attacks that are underway right now by state legislatures.”

The John Lewis Voting Rights Act (VRA) is important legislation that would restore for certain states a requirement to obtain preclearance from the Justice Department for any future changes they want to make to their voting laws.

Democracy 21 strongly supports both the For the People Act and the Voting Rights Act.

But the VRA is not a substitute for S. 1.

Unlike S. 1, the VRA will have no impact on the numerous voter suppression laws that are in existence prior to its enactment. The preclearance provisions in the Act would apply only to new voting laws that states may want to enact.

Only S. 1 will prevent state voter suppression laws from denying millions of eligible citizens the ability to vote in the 2022 congressional elections and the 2024 presidential and congressional elections.  

That’s because S. 1 establishes for all citizens fair voting rules for federal elections, and under the Constitution these federal rules will supersede the state voter suppression laws.

Senators Manchin said in the letter to congressional leaders that “inaction is not an option.”

Senator Manchin’s position will be tested soon, as Senator Schumer has made clear he will call up S. 1 for Senate consideration in the coming weeks.

Senator Manchin, the decisive vote on S. 1, will then face a moment of truth.

Senator Manchin can join with Senate Democrats and choose to protect the sacred right to vote for all eligible citizens in federal elections.

Or, Senator Manchin can join with Senate Republicans and choose to protect the greatest voter suppression effort in the United States since the Jim Crow era.

The votes of millions of Americans are at stake in his decision.

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