J. Christian Adams wrote today on National Review Online about Representative Jim Sensenbrenner’s attempt to reinstate the voting-rights legislation struck down in the 2013 Supreme Court decision Shelby County v. Holder. Sensenbrenner’s legislation would return to the federal government the power to review changes in many state’s elections laws, even the most minor changes.
Senator Ted Cruz responded to the story with the following statement to NRO:
It is disturbing that new efforts are being made in the House and Senate to resurrect voting rules that were recently deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. We should protect the civil rights of every American, and other sections of the Voting Rights Act already provide strong protections against racially discriminatory voting practices. The Supreme Court held that circumstances have changed dramatically in the last 50 years, and the old justifications for preclearance are no longer constitutionally applicable. We should respect the Supreme Court’s judgment.
Texas has a strong record regarding minority voting rights. According to 2012 census data, African-American voter turnout in Texas was ten percentage points higher than white turnout, and African-American voter registration was more than six percentage points higher than white registration. Additionally, the gap between Hispanic and white voter registration in Texas for 2012 was a percentage point better than the national average, and the gap in voter turnout was nearly identical to the national average. Moreover, federal legislation should treat every state equally, and Texas–which has elected more African-Americans and Hispanics statewide than most other States–should not have its legislative decisions unfairly subjected to second-guessing by unelected federal bureaucrats.
Read the full story here.