Georgia Congressman says Congress Needs to Update Part of Voting Rights Act
After the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, the U.S. Justice Department is asking a federal court to use another part of the act to require Texas to seek federal approval before making any voting changes. Under the recent ruling, Georgia, Texas and more than a dozen other states no longer have to to seek preclearance from Washington before making voting revisions. Georgia U.S. Congressman David Scott recently told WABE discrimination he believes has taken place in Texas is an example of why Congress needs to revise the Act.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the court should require Texas to get federal approval for voting changes because the state has a history of voting related discrimination, including Texas’ 2011 Senate and Congressional redistricting plans. Congressman David Scott recently told WABE those redistricting lines are examples of why Congress needs to revise the formula that determines which states need preclearance after the recent court decision.
“Race is still the confounding dilemma for the United States of America even here in the 21st century. We see it permeating so much.”
Scott says federal lawmakers should approve a new formula which would apply to all U.S. states. But he says with a deeply divided Congress, making the changes won’t be easy.
“We got our work cut out for us, but there is a God. All we can do is continue to hope, we can pray, we can energize and the public has got to weigh in.”
In the meantime, a number of Republicans say the Justice Department is trying to circumvent the law by asking the court to require preclearance for Texas. The move by the U.S. Justice Department could affect Texas’ controversial voter ID law, which Texas Attorney General Greg Abbot implemented almost immediately after the recent Supreme Court Decision.
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