The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit government watchdog group that supports strong enforcement of federal campaign finance laws, has released a 40-page report that breaks down affecting early voting and voting by mail legislation passed by 39 state legislatures, including Louisiana, on or before June 30, 2021, in response to the 2020 presidential election.
While two states, Illinois and Washington, received perfect grades for protecting voting rights, four others that passed restrictive vote-by-mail and early voting laws would have been subject to preclearance if the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was in effect. Preclearance would have required those four states – Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Florida – to prove to the U.S. Department of Justice that their restrictive laws would not discriminate against voters of color.
“The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA) would prevent many states from erecting barriers that have a discriminatory impact on racial minorities,” the report says. “Originally, the Voting Rights Act operated to require certain jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination to get approval, or “preclearance,” from the federal government for all election-related changes. This helped ensure that election rules did not impose racially discriminatory barriers. Since the Supreme Court struck down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013, the Department of Justice has not had the tools it needs to hold states with a history of discrimination in voting accountable for passing election laws that erect barriers to the polls for voters of color.
If passed, the VRAA would restore Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and provide a new coverage formula to determine which states with a history of racially discriminatory voting practices will be subject to federal government oversight. Specifically, the VRAA’s new coverage formula would require federal oversight for each state that has had a history of freedom-to-vote violations in the last 25 years that would continuously update based on each states’ future conduct.
Under the new formula provided by the VRAA, Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia would likely be subject to preclearance under the VRAA.
In Louisiana, the news was both good and bad. The legislature “took steps backward” in its 2021 session by passing SB 224, which would have required voters to have photo ID to vote by mail, but Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed, a veto the legislature was unable to override. On the plus side of the ledger, the legislature did extend the number of early voting days for presidential elections to 11 days, giving the state an overall 6 of 10 possible scoring points.
Alabama, probably to no one’s surprise, had the worst grade of any state in the country following its 2021 session, finishing with a dismal score of 2. “Alabama did nothing to improve voting conditions,” the report says. “Indeed, Alabama codified its ban on curbside voting, which was the subject of litigation during the 2020 elections.
Mississippi, the only state with a higher percentage of black citizens (38.5 percent to 33.4 percent), made no changes to its vote-by-mail policies during the 2021 legislative session and continues to have some of the worst vote-by-mail policies in the country. It remains one of only three states analyzed without any form of an online ballot-tracking system.
“The Louisiana State Legislature passed a number of restrictive voting bills that were subsequently vetoed by the governor,” the report says. Among these bills was SB 224, which would have required photo ID to vote by mail. Louisiana, graded as Restrictive, is one of the few states that continues to require voters to have an excuse to vote by mail. The governor vetoed this bill, “because it would make the application to vote absentee by mail more stringent than what is currently required to actually vote absentee by mail.” In a subsequent veto-override session, the legislature declined to override the governor’s veto. A new law requiring photo ID for mail ballots would have undoubtedly been subject to preclearance under the VRAA.
“Out of the 39 states in this report whose legislative sessions have adjourned for 2021, two received perfect grades—Illinois and Washington—and no state received a 0/10,” the report says. “Seven of the 39 states changed their vote-by-mail and early voting laws for the worse, while nine states changed their laws for the better. Unfortunately, many of the states that changed their laws for the better still fall short of the suggested best practices for vote by mail and early voting used in this report. The nine states that improved for vote by mail and early voting are Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia and Utah, and the seven states that passed restrictions are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Louisiana.
“Under preclearance, covered states would have to submit any new voting law to the federal government or federal court system for a determination that the law does not have the impact of discriminating against racial minorities. Many of the voting laws covered under preclearance would include policies related to vote by mail and early voting.”
The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit government watchdog group that supports strong enforcement of federal campaign finance laws, has released a 40-page report that breaks down affecting early voting and voting by mail legislation passed by 39 state legislatures, including Louisiana, on or before June 30, 2021, in response to the 2020 presidential election.
While two states, Illinois and Washington, received perfect grades for protecting voting rights, four others that passed restrictive vote-by-mail and early voting laws would have been subject to preclearance if the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was in effect. Preclearance would have required those four states – Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia and Florida – to prove to the U.S. Department of Justice that their restrictive laws would not discriminate against voters of color.
“The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA) would prevent many states from erecting barriers that have a discriminatory impact on racial minorities,” the report says. “Originally, the Voting Rights Act operated to require certain jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination to get approval, or “preclearance,” from the federal government for all election-related changes. This helped ensure that election rules did not impose racially discriminatory barriers. Since the Supreme Court struck down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder in 2013, the Department of Justice has not had the tools it needs to hold states with a history of discrimination in voting accountable for passing election laws that erect barriers to the polls for voters of color.
If passed, the VRAA would restore Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and provide a new coverage formula to determine which states with a history of racially discriminatory voting practices will be subject to federal government oversight. Specifically, the VRAA’s new coverage formula would require federal oversight for each state that has had a history of freedom-to-vote violations in the last 25 years that would continuously update based on each states’ future conduct.
Under the new formula provided by the VRAA, Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia would likely be subject to preclearance under the VRAA.
In Louisiana, the news was both good and bad. The legislature “took steps backward” in its 2021 session by passing SB 224, which would have required voters to have photo ID to vote by mail, but Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed, a veto the legislature was unable to override. On the plus side of the ledger, the legislature did extend the number of early voting days for presidential elections to 11 days, giving the state an overall 6 of 10 possible scoring points.
Alabama, probably to no one’s surprise, had the worst grade of any state in the country following its 2021 session, finishing with a dismal score of 2. “Alabama did nothing to improve voting conditions,” the report says. “Indeed, Alabama codified its ban on curbside voting, which was the subject of litigation during the 2020 elections.
Mississippi, the only state with a higher percentage of black citizens (38.5 percent to 33.4 percent), made no changes to its vote-by-mail policies during the 2021 legislative session and continues to have some of the worst vote-by-mail policies in the country. It remains one of only three states analyzed without any form of an online ballot-tracking system.
The Louisiana State Legislature passed a number of restrictive voting bills that were subsequently vetoed by the governor.51 Among these bills was SB 224, which would have required photo ID to vote by mail. Louisiana, graded as Restrictive, is one of the few states that continues to require voters to have an excuse to vote by mail. The governor vetoed this bill, “because it would make the application to vote absentee by mail more stringent than what is currently required to actually vote absentee by mail.” In a subsequent veto-override session, the legislature declined to override the governor’s veto. A new law requiring photo ID for mail ballots would have undoubtedly been subject to preclearance under the VRAA.
“Out of the 39 states in this report whose legislative sessions have adjourned for 2021, two received perfect grades—Illinois and Washington—and no state received a 0/10,” the report says. “Seven of the 39 states changed their vote-by-mail and early voting laws for the worse, while nine states changed their laws for the better. Unfortunately, many of the states that changed their laws for the better still fall short of the suggested best practices for vote by mail and early voting used in this report. The nine states that improved for vote by mail and early voting are Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia and Utah, and the seven states that passed restrictions are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa and Louisiana.
“Under preclearance, covered states would have to submit any new voting law to the federal government or federal court system for a determination that the law does not have the impact of discriminating against racial minorities. Many of the voting laws covered under preclearance would include policies related to vote by mail and early voting.”
Louisiana Voice 
I cannot, for the life of me understand how anyone could possibly object to proving who you are (identification) before you vote. The same people who seem to object seem to be the very same who demand we carry a proof (identification) of a vaccine before we travel, go to work, go out to eat. Every poll has shown that pretty much everyone, no matter what race, approves of voter I.D, laws. Voting is far more sacred than buying a pack of cigarettes, a beer etc., which require picture i.d.
Mail in voting is a ripe opportunity for fraudulent voting, as is ballot harvest. The only ones who would support that also must approve of election cheating. For those of you who do not understand the difference, one must personally request a ballot to vote absentee as opposed to mail in ballots, which are sent out en masse.
Certainly not those fine people who support Trump’s instructions to Justice Dept. to “just say there was fraud and the leave the rest to me.” Certainly not those fine individuals who looked the other way at the Russian influence during the 2016 election. I mean, who would ever question their integrity?
I can’t help but wonder how having to prove who you are ( a U.S. citizen and taxpayer ) is “discriminatory”. Do you not need a picture identification at the bank? at a bar? at any government access controlled facility?
The argument for years has been that having to prove who you are when you vote was somehow suppressing the minority vote. An acquaintance who is a minority and a devout liberal has posed this dilemma as such, ” How can a disabled person vote is they can’t get a driver’s license?”
The answer is simple. Louisiana, like many states, requires citizens to have a state registered identification card. Of course, a driver’s license is just that, but with the addition of driving privileges. So, is it “discriminatory” to compel those voting by mail to prove that they are, in fact, who they say they are?
How could that be so? Regardless of party, color, or culture, we all want our society to perform as our founding fathers envisioned, truthfully and equally for all taxpayers. One of the most important privileges accrued to us as citizens is the right to elect representatives by individual vote. Would any of us want an elected official who was brought into office by means of a biased vote count due to an unverified constituency? Not only does that not make common sense, it is also in violation of that sacred duty we all have to each other to ensure that the vote is legitimate.
The latest supposed “Jim Crow” banter by those on the progressive left is simply race baiting in its purest form. I personally do not want any election conducted whereby those who are legally entitled cannot vote for the candidate of their choice. But I also don’t want votes cast that cannot be verified as being cast by taxpaying citizens of this nation.
If you support voting without verifying who you claim to be then you support voter fraud. Sorry your opposition to this statement cannot be justified.
I suppose I should weigh in on the discussion since I posted this report. If you read the post closely, you will see much of it is in quotes, meaning it’s the words of the report, not mine. The report was released today with a 12 noon embargo, which I honored. I posted it at 12:03 pm.
I suppose this is an area in which I break with the traditional Democratic position in that I see no harm in being required to produce an ID in order to vote. As Zoe says above, IDs are required for a number of activities, none so precious as the right to vote. But with that right goes the responsibility to guard against fraud and IDs appear to be the best defense against that possibility.
And as much as I usually disagree with Outlaw, the last paragraph of his comment above makes a lot of sense.
Like Tom has said, I don’t have a problem with presenting an ID. I am a minority and voting is a right. A right that should be exercised legally. Also, in today’s society, I can’t imagine how an adult can function in this society without a driver’s license or an official stae ID.