Democrats propose voting rights bill to counter Georgia's election changes and others

WASHINGTON ? On the heels of another state adopting what they call restrictive election changes, Democrats are introducing voting rights legislation Tuesday aimed at making it easier for voters to cast ballots, including same-day registration.

Democratic leaders said the Voter Empowerment Act of 2024 will draw attention to the increasing number of states adopting laws they say restrict voting rights. Democrats and voting rights activists had warned that some states would enact such laws after a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision eliminated a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

“People were not sure that what we were saying held water. Now they know what we've been saying is very real,’’ South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, a Democrat, said Monday in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY before he reintroduced the bill. “This is a good time for people to focus on this legislation. I'm not crazy by any means. I know full well the bill is not going to pass in the House. But it should be on the mind of everybody as to who is suppressing the vote. All these people who say they believe in democracy, who say they believe in the democratic form of government need to be called out.”

The Democratic effort comes in the wake of dozens of states mostly led by Republicans adopted more restrictive voting laws and changes, including last week when election officials in Georgia approved a rule requiring local officials to hand count ballots and confirm the numbers match machine counts before results are certified. Critics said the change is intended to delay the results.

More: Georgia activists ramp up voter turnout efforts to push back against changes

The Voter Empowerment Act stands little chance of passage in the Republican-controlled House. Other voting rights legislation, including one named after the late civil rights legend Georgia Rep. John Lewis, have repeatedly stalled in Congress.

Still, Clyburn said it will raise “awareness about an issue that’s very important. People are now focused on voter suppression. This bill needs to be in the mix.’’

In addition to requiring states to allow same-day registration for federal elections, the legislation would also allow online registration and automatic registration of people whose information comes from another state or a federal agency. It would ban officials from removing voters from registration lists because mail sent to them had been returned.

It would also reauthorize the federal Election Assistance Commission which, among other things, serves as an information clearinghouse for election officials. Some Republicans have tried to eliminate the commission because they said it’s no longer needed.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, has introduced a companion bill and plans to reintroduce it, Clyburn’s office said. The House nor Senate version is expected to garner much Republican support.

At least 31 states have passed 103 restrictive voting laws since the 2013 Supreme Court decision, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice.

The legislation, if passed, would be transformative by establishing baseline national standards, said Wendy Weiser, vice president for Democracy at the Brennan Center.

"National legislation is necessary to pull us out of the dangerous loop where elections center on often last-minute efforts to manipulate the rules for partisan advantage rather than efforts to promote the interests of and win support from the American people,'' she said.

Republicans have argued their efforts, particularly at the state level where elections are run, are to protect against fraud and make sure only eligible voters can cast ballots. They have said Democrats are trying to control local elections. But Republicans have also proposed federal legislation.

In July, the House passed a Republican bill called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would prohibit people from voting in a federal election if they do not provide proof of citizenship. It would also require states to purge non-citizens from their eligible voters lists.

Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, the Republican majority leader, said the legislation is important to ensure the integrity of the vote.

“Why not have a safeguard to ensure that only American citizens vote in America’s elections?’’ he said in remarks in July.

Under federal law, noncitizens are already prohibited from voting in federal elections.

Clyburn, a civil rights veteran, said some of the new election laws harken to tactics used during Jim Crow to suppress Black voters. He called it insulting during that era to require voters to count bubbles in a bar of soap before they could vote. He also called it insulting that a recent Georgia law forbids groups from giving water to voters standing in line.

'We already know what we need to do'

Georgia has been at the center of controversies over election changes. Clyburn and others said they're concerned Georgia is not alone.

Protecting voting rights was a major theme at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this month.  Alabama Rep. Terri Sewell, a conference co-chair, called attacks against voting rights the biggest threat to democracy.

Senate and House Democrats, including Sewell, have also pushed for passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that required states with a history of discrimination to get federal clearance before making election changes. It has yet to pass both chambers.

“Our democracy is strongest when all eligible voters can cast their ballot…,’’ said New York Rep. Joseph Morelle, a co-sponsor of the Voter Empowerment Act and the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee. “When it comes to ensuring equal access at the ballot box, we already know what we need to do.’’

Contributing: Rebecca Morin

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Despite uphill challenge, Democrats push voting rights bill