I have heard (unconfirmed) that the Senate markup of the VRA bill is coming in mid-July. Sen. Specter is hoping to have the bill on the floor in the second half of July. The House timing remains a question.

Last night the Rules Committee voted to table H. Res. 878, which had provided for the rule on debate of VRA renewal (that’s the deal that allowed two proposed amendments, the Norwood amendment and the Westmoreland amendment). It appears then… Continue reading

The Hill offers this must-read report on VRA renewal, which states that “Democrats and civil-rights leaders compromised on measures regarding voter protection, including those to curb the use of photo-ID laws, to ensure that a bill would be passed before… Continue reading

Obviously, there is no explicit connection between today’s Supreme Court decision involving Vermont’s campaign finance laws and the extension of the special provisions of the Voting Rights Act. But there might be a subtle connection if you read between the… Continue reading

The discussion of the constitutionality of the proposed extension of the Voting Rights Act has a disquieting tone to it. I am not sure what purpose is served by advocates of extension saying categorically that the bill would be found… Continue reading

The ACLU has issued this press release, which links to this letter. I completely agree with the letter’s opposition to the ridiculous proposal offered by Rep. Norwood to change the section 5 trigger to a formula that would… Continue reading

I have received some private reactions to my call for compromise, some of it positive, some of it suggesting that I am emboldening opponents of the Act to stall further. Bob Bauer has posted these comments challenging the sincerity… Continue reading

Yesterday I suggested that the civil rights community should be ready to compromise on some aspects of VRA renewal in order to get a bill passed this session. In this post, I want to suggest that if those members in… Continue reading

From discussions with a number of people, both on and off the election law listserv (see especially here), I would now suggest amending my earlier proactive bailout proposal in two ways: 1. The DOJ should be able to request… Continue reading

Those members of the civil rights community who have been leading the push for VRA renewal made a decision some time ago (or at least it appears to an outside observer) to push for VRA renewal (1) as quickly as… Continue reading

Gerry Hebert offers these interesting observations on the proactive bailout proposal. UPDATE: Luke Peterson emails: When it comes to the bailout provision of the VRA, it is hard to argue with Gerry Hebert. I would like to add one point… Continue reading

The present version of the Voting Rights Act reauthorization bill (H.R. 9) would make a significant change to the legal standard under Section 5 . While this change is important, I suggest in this post that the lively… Continue reading

Writing in response to my recent post, Ed Still writes on the election law listserv: Rick, The problem with “proactive” bailout provisions such as Westmoreland proposes is the lack of understanding about who has the most opportunity, ability, and… Continue reading

Numerous posts, to date, have focused on whether Section 5 should be extended in its current form, and whether Supreme Court will uphold it if it is. With the House of Representatives scheduled to vote this week on a bill… Continue reading