Hasen: Using Republican Protests Over VRA Renewal to Mend, Not End, the VRA

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland has written this oped for The Hill, “Georgia has changed for the better, and the Voting Rights Act should too,” which appears to be the same as this one that appeared May 29 in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
I normally don’t link to opeds that appear in numerous places, but here I think it is interesting that this is appearing now. In my recent Findlaw column on VRA renewal, I wrote: “A few House members from Georgia and Texas are making noises about extending the act nationally, but this appears to be just political posturing for the folks back in their districts.” I am now wondering if this is more than “making noises.” That is, I am wondering whether some Republicans like Westmoreland are serious about fighting for changes in VRA renewal.
It seems pretty clear that the Republican leadership, along with Democrats in the House, will be able to pass a renewal, even over the objections of a few Southern legislators. The real question, I think, is going to be whether Sens. Cornyn and Sessions on the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with potentially other Senators, are going to take steps to try to make changes in the bill. These Senators will have a lot more power to force such changes than the House skeptics.
Bob Bauer has rightly questioned whether the agonizing of Sen. Cornyn over the constitutionality of a renewed VRA is sincere. He’d likely say the same of Rep. Westmoreland’s agonizing. But these protests present an opportunity for those in Congress who are more committed to a renewed VRA that passes constitutional muster to craft a compromise on the bill. That is, even if one does not accept Sen. Cornyn’s or Rep. Westmoreland’s concerns as genuine, there are real concerns about the constitutionality of the Act that VRA renewal supporters should address. The Cornyn-Westmoreland concerns provide the right political climate of “compromise” to make some changes in the VRA renewal bill, such as adopting a proactive bailout provision.

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