Norton Announces Congressional Resolution Condemning State Voting Restrictions

Press Release

In commemoration of the recent 51st anniversary of passage of the Voting Rights Act, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced that when Congress returns from recess, she will introduce a resolution noting the unusual number of recent court decisions overturning restrictive state voting laws in the North and South because they unconstitutionally deny voting rights to people of color, the elderly, and low-income residents. Norton's resolution calls on the House of Representatives to prioritize new preclearance provisions following the Supreme Court's 2013 decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which allowed the federal government to review new voting laws in mostly Southern states before they went into effect. The resolution notes that 15 states were set to use new voting restrictions for the 2016 elections for the first time, but four were struck down in recent weeks in Texas, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Ohio. States have rushed to restrict early voting, require proof of citizenship, reduce the number of polling stations, decrease assistance at polling places, and have added other restrictions on voting.

"In the wake of the 2013 Supreme Court decision that gutted the Voting Rights Act, many states moved quickly to erect new barriers to voting, particularly for people of color, the elderly, and low-income residents," Norton said. "However, with alacrity, federal appeals courts have struck down voter suppression laws in time for the next election even in states where the Voting Rights Act's preclearance procedures would not have applied. Citizens have also been able to get these late laws overturned in some states by using the tough standards that the legislature engaged in intentional discrimination."

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