Discriminatory Barriers to Voting

On Sept. 5, 2019, Jon Greenbuam, chief counsel and senior deputy director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, testified before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary. At the hearing, “Discriminatory Barriers to Voting,” Greenbaum spoke about the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder, decision, which gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, a key provision, and how it has led to high levels of voting discrimination, particularly impacting communities of color. 

Greenbaum noted that prior to the Shelby County decision, Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was an effective means of both preventing and remedying minority voting discrimination through the preclearance process. Between 1965 and 2013, the Department of Justice denied preclearance for over 3,000 voting changes, and approximately 400 redistricting plans were stopped.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law voting litigation record post-Shelby County shows a high degree of voting discrimination, distinctly in the areas previosuly covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

• Texas immediately implemented a voter ID law, and it was shown that Blacks and Hispanics were two to three times less likely to possess the required ID;
• Georgia created a series of “challenge proceedings” to voters, and aggressively purged voters from the rolls in counties with a high population of African Americans. 

Greenbaum advocated for the passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which has a geographical coverage formula that is constitutional, and would prevent minority communities from experiencing voting discrimination. Greenbaum called on Congress to act quickly, as the 2020 election and post-2020 redistricting could have a significant impact on minority communities.

Read the full testimony here.