WASHINGTON (AP) – Wednesday is the 60th anniversary of the day President Lyndon Johnson Heading to the US Capitol, Martin Luther King Jr. stood behind him and signed. Voting Rights Act to the law.
The law protected the right to vote and ensured that the government would fight efforts to curb it, particularly efforts aimed at black voters. For many Americans, it was the day our democracy began completely.
That was the case.
The law has been slowly eroded for over a decade. Supreme Court decision in 2013 All or some of the 15 states with a history of discrimination in voting will end the requirement to obtain federal approval before changing the way elections are held. Within hours of awardsome states, which were under the pre-environment regulations, have begun to announce plans for stricter voting laws.
These changes have continued since the 2020 presidential election and President Donald Trump. False claims That widespread fraud cost him reelection. The Supreme Court upheld Important parts of the Voting Rights Act In 2023, however, in the coming period, we are expected to hear cases that can roll back that decision and other cases that effectively castrate the law.
Voting rights experts say these cases largely determine whether groundbreaking laws passed decades ago during turbulent times will mark future anniversary.
Demetria McCain, Director of Policy at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, said: “And let’s be clear, our democracy is likely to turn 60 when the anniversary of the voting rights act comes here, especially because there is so much attack on voting rights because it is related to black communities and communities of color.”
Native Americans celebrate a temporary victory
The reservation for the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippe Wine Dian is approximately 10 miles (16 km) from the Canadian border, forests, small lakes and the vast Prairieland area. Its main highways are a mix of small homes, mobile homes and businesses. The sparkling casinos and hotels stand out, not far from the grazing bison.
In 2024, the Spirit Lake tribe, the North Dakota tribe and another tribe, formed the first joint political district. They filed a lawsuit alleging that the way the lines were drawn for the state’s legislative seat denied the right to select candidates for their choice. US District Court Chief Judge Peter Welte agreed and Place a new map.
State Rep. Colette Brown wanted to see more Native American representatives, so he competed in Congress and won under the new map.
“It felt surreal. I felt it was achieved, I was recognized,” said Brown, plaintiffs in the lawsuit and the executive director of the Spirit Lake Tribe Game Committee. “Okay, OK, it’s time to really start making change and start education from within so that we don’t get silent.”
Democrat Brown co-hosted several bills on Native American issues that became law, including helping to repatriate the remains and artifacts of missing Indigenous people.
Jamie Azure, chairman of the Turtle Mountain Tribe, said this year’s Voting Rights Act anniversary will lead to women, “we will force how far we have come.”
Now the future of their district is in the hands of the Supreme Court.
Are individuals allowed to submit voting rights assignments?
Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuitcovering North Dakota and six other states, Welte’s decision was overturned 2-1said tribes and groups such as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU have no right to sue potential violations of voters’ constitutional rights.
The ruling was expanded with previous 8th Circuit opinion from Arkansas. I rejected another task For the same reason. Later last month, Third Circuit Panel In another case from Arkansas, the U.S. Attorney General has determined that only the U.S. Attorney General can file such cases rather than individuals or groups.
These decisions have overcame decades of precedent. The Supreme Court has Continued the ruling For the tribe while deciding whether it would take the North Dakota incident.
The University of Michigan Law School’s Voting Rights Initiative has found that since 1982, nearly 87% of claims under the Voting Rights Act portion, known as Section 2, are from individuals and organizations.
Leaving an individual who is not capable of submitting assignments is particularly cumbersome, as it appears that the Justice Department is focusing on other priorities under Republican Trump.
The government’s voting rights unit was demolished and given new priorities, she said. It was executed “That was exactly what it was for those people Created to protect. ”
The Justice Department declined to answer questions about voting rights priorities, pursuing cases, or whether they would be involved in voting rights lawsuits coming before the country’s Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court will weigh different cases of race and parliamentary districts.
Two years ago Voting Rights Activists It was celebrated when the Supreme Court saved Section 2 in an Alabama lawsuit that demanded that the state derive additional legislative districts to benefit black voters. now Rehearsal preparations are in place A similar case in Louisiana where that decision can be changed or reversed.
court I heard about the incident In March, no decision was made during the semester. In Friday’s order, the court asked the lawyer to provide a brief explaining whether the intentional creation of the state’s second-majority Congressional districts violates the 14th or 15th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Robert Weiner, director of voting rights for the Civil Rights Committee under the Act, said that while the court is asking questions is “concerns,” the fact that nine judges have already not had five votes during their last term suggests they already have no five votes.
“If the sides were already chosen, they wouldn’t need re-arming,” he said.
Trump’s Justice Department focuses on voting issues
When the remaining protections of voting rights were under threat, the Department of Justice has shifted election-related priorities.
Under the Attorney General Pam Bondy,have Drop or withdraw Several election and voting-related lawsuits. Instead, the department is focused Voter fraud concerns raised by conservative activists Continued Years of false claims Elections around them.
I also have a department Request for voter registration information has been submitted It also includes data on election fraud and data on election violation warnings against at least 19 states.
In addition to changing focus at the Department of Justice, federal laws to protect voting rights have gone anywhere. The Democrats have John Lewis’ voting rights bill has been reintroducedbut that’s their law Could not pass In 2022, when they had both Congress and the White House homes and needed Republican support in the Senate.
Earlier this year, Trump signed Presidential Order They are seeking an overhaul of the voting in the state. This includes documented proof requirements for federal voting forms, many of which have been blocked by courts. GOP-controlled house Passed the invoice That requires evidence of citizenship to register for the vote. and Gerrymandering State legislative and legislative districts remain common.
Sean Morales Doyle, director of the Voting Rights Center at the Brennan Judicial Center at New York University, said the slow deletion of law 60 years ago created a country with an unequal distribution of voting rights. Some states are active Increased access Vote while others were there Focused on voting restrictions.
“The last five to ten years,” he said, “voting experience is increasingly dependent on where they live.”
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Dura reported that he reported from Minneapolis’ ND Associated Press Writer Steve Karnowski. I contributed to this report.
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