Democratic lawmakers and civil rights advocates have escalated calls for voting rights protections since the death of Rep. John Lewis, who made the issue his life's work.
Driving the news: House Democrats renamed a measure aimed at restoring a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act after Lewis. The bill, which passed in the House in December, has little chance of clearing the GOP-led Senate.
- "You want to honor John? Let's honor him by revitalizing the law that he was willing to die for," said former President Obama at Lewis' funeral on Thursday.
- "By the way, naming it the John Lewis Voting Rights Act — that is a fine tribute, but John wouldn't want us to stop there."
Why it matters: The renewed push comes seven years after the Supreme Court gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that allowed the government to regulate new election laws — like eliminating polling locations — in several mostly Southern states with a history of discrimination.
- The court suggested at the time that Congress could reinstate the law by passing a new formula to determine which states would be subject to federal oversight.
Of note: At least 1,688 polling places closed across 13 states, nearly all in the South and West, between 2012 and 2018, according to a report by the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights. ...
- In addition, states "have shortened voting hours, enacted new barriers to registration, purged millions from voter rolls, implemented strict voter identification