Shelby County does not affect Section 3(c)
of the Voting Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. 1973a(c). Jurisdictions covered by a
preclearance requirement pursuant to court orders under Section 3(c),
remain subject to the terms of those court orders.
So, whatever the GOP is up to on reauthorization of section 4(b) in Congress, the
US Dept of Justice is moving forward on enforcing the Voting Rights Act. (
Perez, et al v. Texas, et al (No. 5:11-cv-360))
Here is a link to
AG Holder's remarks today at the National Urban League Annual Conference on July 25. Text is below.
Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks
at the National Urban League Annual Conference
~ Thursday, July 25, 2013
Thank you, Marc [Morial], for those kind words – and thank you all for
such a warm welcome. It’s a privilege to join every member of the
National Urban League, both in this room and far beyond it, in renewing
our shared commitment to the cause of equality. I’d particularly like to
recognize my good friend Maudine Cooper, President and CEO of the
Greater Washington Urban League, who is retiring this year after more
than two decades of service to the Urban League movement. Thank you for
your contributions Maudine and your unwavering support. It’s an honor
to stand alongside you and your colleagues this week as we continue the
fight for social and economic justice – and carry forward the legacy of
progress and achievement that has defined this organization for more
than a century.
Since your founders first came together – in 1910, in my hometown of New
York City – to combat discrimination and segregation in every sector of
society, the National Urban League has distinguished itself through
principled advocacy. In the era of Jim Crow and “separate but equal,”
your members and leaders provided assistance and inspiration to citizens
of every age, race, background, and walk of life. They helped to build
the strength of the Civil Rights Movement, to rally generations to the
cause of equality, and to realize the enduring promise of the American
dream.
As we come together in Philadelphia today, the National Urban League
continues to remind leaders, organizers, and advocates across America
that – in the work of building a more perfect Union – each of us has an
essential role to play. And you’re showing that we all have important
responsibilities to fulfill.
This is particularly evident this year, as we assemble for your Annual
Conference in the city where our Republic was born; in a moment of both
challenge and opportunity; during a summer defined by historic
milestones. Next month, our nation will mark the 50th anniversary of the
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom – which this organization
helped to facilitate – when the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
stood before a quarter million civil rights supporters, shared his
audacious dream with all the world, and called his fellow citizens to
the pursuit of a truth first articulated in a colonial meeting hall not
far from where we gather today – the notion that all are created equal
and deserving of equal opportunity and treatment.
This is the ideal that has shaped this organization, and guided our
country’s steps forward, through the turbulent events of the last
century. And it’s the uniquely American principle that has led us to
attain once-unimaginable progress over the years – in expanding economic
opportunity, overturning legal discrimination, and attempting to
ensure access to the ballot box for every eligible citizen.
There’s no question that we have much to be proud of, and encouraged by,
as we meet to celebrate the acts of courage and selflessness that have
led the National Urban League to this moment. But there’s also no
denying that your work – our work – is anything but complete. Our
journey is not yet over. And today, despite all that you’ve helped to
accomplish, our important struggle must go on.
Last month, the United States Supreme Court issued a deeply
disappointing – and flawed – decision that struck down a key part of the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 – the cornerstone of modern civil rights law.
This landmark protection – which was signed into law by President
Lyndon Johnson, and was reauthorized by overwhelming, bipartisan
Congressional majorities as recently as 2006 – included a provision that
allowed the Justice Department to take action against any covered
jurisdiction that adopted voting rules or procedures with either a
discriminatory purpose or effect.
For nearly five decades, this
requirement – called “preclearance” – served as a potent tool for
addressing inequities in our election systems. Although preclearance
originated during the Civil Rights Movement – and was informed by a
history of discrimination – the conduct that it was intended to address
continues to this day. Preclearance has proven to be an effective
mechanism that puts on hold any new voting changes until they have been
subjected to a fair, and thorough, review. This process regularly
resulted in approvals for impartial voting changes. But it also allowed
the Justice Department to work with covered jurisdictions to address
problems wherever they occurred – protecting the ability of all eligible
citizens to participate in the process of self-governance.
In fact, just last year, a federal court noted the “vital function” the
Voting Rights Act played in protecting African American voters who would
have been disproportionately impacted by a photo ID law in South
Carolina. It prompted the state to change the way its new voting
statute will be implemented in future elections to eliminate what would
have been a dramatic discriminatory effect. Another court cited the
Voting Rights Act in blocking a Texas congressional redistricting map
that would have discriminated against Latino voters. And in that ruling,
the court noted that the parties “provided more evidence of
discriminatory intent than we have space, or need, to address here.”
As these and many other cases demonstrate; as too many voters have seen
firsthand; and as every member of the Supreme Court acknowledged in the
Shelby decision – in the words of the Chief Justice: “voting
discrimination still exists: no one doubts that.” Although mandated by
the Constitution, voting rights are not always guaranteed – in practice –
without robust enforcement. That’s why, despite the Court’s decision, I
believe we must regard this setback not as a defeat, but as an historic
opportunity: for Congress to restore, and even to strengthen, modern
voting protections.
After all, this has never been a partisan issue. Every reauthorization
of the Voting Rights Act was signed into law by a Republican president.
It’s a question of our values as a nation. It goes to the heart of who
we are as a people. And it’s incumbent upon Congressional leaders from
both parties to guarantee that every eligible American will always have
equal access to the polls; to ensure that we will never turn our back on
the hard-won progress of the last hundred years; and to consider new
solutions that are equal to the challenges of the 21st century.
As
this debate unfolds, it’s important for all Americans to note that –
despite the Supreme Court’s flawed ruling – our voting rights remain
fully intact.
It is the responsibility of every member of this organization – and
every citizen of this country – to keep defending their rights by
exercising them, by registering to vote, by going to the polls on
Election Day, and by casting a ballot for their preferred candidates of
any political party. Never forget that an involved and concerned
electorate can overcome any amount of money the special interests might
spend in trying to shape our nation to suit their narrow vision.
And it is the duty of today’s Justice Department to continue monitoring
jurisdictions around the country for changes that may hamper these
voting rights. To keep taking appropriately aggressive action against
any jurisdiction that attempts to hinder free and fair access to the
franchise. And to keep refining and re-focusing current enforcement
efforts – while we work with Congress to craft stronger tools for
protecting voting rights.
With these goals in mind, I have already directed the Department’s Civil
Rights Division to shift resources to the enforcement of a number of
federal voting laws not affected by the Supreme Court’s decision –
including the remaining provisions of the Voting Rights Act, prohibiting
voting discrimination based on race, color, or language.
And today I am announcing that the Justice Department will ask a federal
court in Texas to subject the State of Texas to a preclearance regime
similar to the one required by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. This
request to “bail in” the state – and require it to obtain “pre-approval”
from either the Department or a federal court before implementing
future voting changes – is available under the Voting Rights Act when
intentional voting discrimination is found. Based on the evidence of
intentional racial discrimination that was presented last year in the
redistricting case, Texas v. Holder – as well as the history of
pervasive voting-related discrimination against racial minorities that
the Supreme Court itself has recognized – we believe that the State of
Texas should be required to go through a preclearance process whenever
it changes its voting laws and practices.
This is the Department’s first action to protect voting rights following
the Shelby County decision, but it will not be our last. Even as
Congress considers updates to the Voting Rights Act in light of the
Court’s ruling, we plan, in the meantime, to fully utilize the law’s
remaining sections to ensure that the voting rights of all American
citizens are protected. My colleagues and I are determined to use every
tool at our disposal to stand against discrimination wherever it is
found. But let me be very clear: these remaining tools are no
substitute for legislation that must fill the void left by the Supreme
Court’s decision. This issue transcends partisanship, and we must work
together. We cannot allow the slow unraveling of the progress that so
many, throughout history, have sacrificed so much to achieve. And, in
our broader efforts, we will continue to look far beyond America’s
ballot boxes – to our schools, military bases, and border areas; our
immigrant communities, our criminal justice system, and even our
workplaces – in order to advance the fight for equality and against
injustice.
As the National Urban League understands better than most, this fight
also extends to every segment of our workforce and every sector of our
economy – because our country is strongest when every American has a
fair shot at economic opportunity. This is why the Justice Department
is moving aggressively to guard against financial fraud, to ensure
robust competition, and to hold accountable all those who would
undermine the integrity of our housing and lending markets. It’s also
why the Administration as a whole will continue to advance the
priorities that President Obama laid out in Illinois yesterday afternoon
– not just to create jobs in the near term, but to invest in our future
– and build on the 40 straight months of economic growth we’ve seen.
Moving forward, we know that our success will depend upon our ability to
grow our country’s economy not from the top down – but from the middle
out. It will be predicated on the strength of a resurgent middle class –
as more Americans gain access to educational and job opportunities,
purchase homes they can call their own, begin to save for retirement,
and experience the benefits of affordable health care when they need
it. As the President made clear, leaders from Congress, the
Administration, and the private sector must work together to look beyond
the challenges of the moment, to expand economic empowerment, to lay
the groundwork for a brighter future, and – ultimately – to restore the
American dream. The needs of the American people are great; the time for
partisan gamesmanship is over.
Just as it always has been, the American dream is founded – today – on
the fundamental promise of equal protection, and equal justice under
law, for everyone in this country. And each of us must seize this moment
to rededicate ourselves to the legacy that inspired the National Urban
League’s founding – and which has driven the progress of the last
century: the long, and ongoing, struggle for civil rights.
I’m deeply proud of all that the Justice Department’s Civil Rights
Division has done to advance this struggle over the last four and a half
years. Since 2009, the Division has filed more criminal civil rights
cases than at any other time in our history, including record numbers of
police misconduct and human trafficking cases. Under the Matthew
Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act, which President
Obama signed into law in 2009, we’ve improved our ability to hold
accountable those who commit bias-motivated acts of violence. We’ve
worked, in a variety of ways, to strengthen the Department’s capacity to
combat discrimination, bullying, and harassment – and to protect the
most vulnerable members of society, our children, from violence and
abuse. We remain determined, despite unnecessary setbacks, to pass
commonsense measures to prevent and reduce the gun violence that
afflicts too many communities, and steals too many promising futures,
each day. Under President Obama, we will continue to lead the effort to
make our criminal justice system more fair. And we are committed to
fighting alongside groups like this one, and our colleagues throughout
the Administration, to achieve additional changes by enacting new
legislation – including meaningful, comprehensive immigration reform.
Today, I want to assure you that – so long as I have the privilege of
serving as Attorney General – this vital work will go on. The
enforcement of essential civil rights protections will remain a top
priority for the United States Department of Justice. And we will
continue to rely on the leadership, the partnership, and the steadfast
dedication of passionate citizens like all of you – and extraordinary
organizations like the National Urban League.
Over the last century – and in your contemporary efforts – this group
has repeatedly proven the power of individual voices to inspire positive
collective action. As we keep moving forward, I believe we can all be
confident in where your efforts will lead us. But I also recognize – as
you do, and as Dr. King reminded us, on that summer day 50 years ago –
that “we can never be satisfied . . . until justice rolls down like
waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
This morning – as we gather just a few blocks from the hall where our
Republic was born – we must recommit ourselves to the cause of justice.
We must join Dr. King in declaring that we, too, are far from satisfied
and are still impatient. And we must pledge to honor his example – and
the contributions of so many throughout our history – by protecting the
progress they worked so hard to establish. By carrying on their
unfinished work. And by striving, every day, to continue the long march
toward equality, opportunity, and justice – along the trail that was
blazed by our forebears, and the path that still stretches – beyond the
horizon – to the Promised Land.
Thank you. May God bless our journey. And may God bless the United States of America.
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